


The New Dad(s) in Town

by messingaround



Category: SPN, Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Character Death, Domestic Dean and Cas, Drinking, Eventual Cas/Dean, Family Adventures, Kid!Angels, Kid!Gabriel, Kid!Raphael, Violence, Wings, burial, kid!Lucifer, kid!Michael, parenting, slow build relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-05-24 10:10:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 111,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6150186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messingaround/pseuds/messingaround
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean now has custody of four archangels. Four archangels that have the bare minimum of grace they need to survive. Oh and they are all in children's bodies with almost none of their memories. To say that this is going to be an adventure is an understatement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How it All Started

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! So this is my first Supernatural fic and I'm going to try my hardest to update this at least once a month!! I've been really excited about this fic so yay finally posting it! This was inspired by a lot of different fics and writers and the fact that I'm a sucker for kid/baby fics. I'll be adding tags along the way as things develop. Fed back is welcome, kudos are appreciated and I hope everyone who checks this story out enjoys it!!  
> Love,  
> Mess

For a long time Dean thought that God just enjoyed messing with the Winchesters, that he got his jolly’s out of it, that he would just sit back with a drink and laugh at their lives. Now though, now Dean knows, he _knows_ that God has dedicated his life to fucking with him and his brother. Would you like to know why Dean knows this?

                Of course you would, you nosey fuck.

~~~~~~~~

                ‘Twas a bright and sunny day that God decided to pluck Dean out of reality and say “Here are four of my children. Watch them for a while, will ya?”… Okay, okay. That’s not _exactly_ how it went.

     It was a nice day, a cool seventy, sunny and hardly any clouds in the sky, kind of day. It was a great change from a week of constant rain. Since it was so nice Dean decided to work on Baby outside of the Bunker. Just as he was putting the oil cap back on, he was surrounded in white. Completely engulfed in a blinding white light, he had closed his eyes against the burn of it. Once it had dulled considerably Dean decided that it was safe to open his eyes, something he deeply regrets, because maybe – just maybe if he had kept his eyes closed he would have been sent back and nothing would have changed. Except that Dean didn’t keep his eyes closed. Nope, he opened them and when he did he saw that he was in an office. He was in an office that was in an office building, a building that was pretty high up if the view of the clear blue sky was anything to go by. Then his eyes found a man sitting behind the desk. A very frazzled looking man, a man that looked a hell of a lot like Chuck. Dean quickly moved his hand to his back where his gun should have been. Yeah you read that right, his gun wasn’t there. As panic coursed throughout Dean’s body and thousands of questions ran through his head, the guy that looked like Chuck- but he couldn’t be Chuck, could he? Chuck is dead, isn’t he? That’s what Castiel said and honestly Dean tried not to think about Chuck. It just made him feel like he failed the prophet. Because he couldn’t keep him safe, when then of course made him think that he couldn’t keep anyone saf-

                “I have a favor to ask of you Dean.” Not Chuck’s voice cut across Dean’s thoughts and brought him back to the situation at hand.

“Who the hell are you?” Dean bit out with his hands balled into fists, ready to fight.

                Not Chuck rounded the desk and leaned against the front of it. He looked down at the ground, almost sheepishly, something Chuck would have done. Lifting his head back up he looked Dean in the eyes, and Dean had finally realized how run down this man looked, more run down than Chuck ever looked. His shoulders were slumped and he looked like he needed someone’s help, desperately.

                “I’m God,”

                “, or well the God that created Angels. Since of course I am not the only God. There- there are many others Gods and it sounds like I think I’m more important than the others when I call myself God. B-but that’s what people call me so I’ve just gotten in the habit of calling myself that-“

    Dean cleared his throat hoping that it would get the man to stop rambling.

                “Oh sorry- sorry,” The man cleared his throat, “you can call me Chuck still.”

  “What the fuck?” Is the first thing that Dean had blurted out.

     But can you blame him?! Because what the fuck man!? Chuck opened his mouth but Dean continued.

  “You’re telling me that you’ve been around the entire time? That you’ve sat by with your thumb up your ass as your children have brought destruction to the world!? That YOU SAT BY AND WATCHED THE APOCALYPSE ALMOST HAPPEN AND ALL YOU DID WAS SIT IN THIS OFFICE AND THINK “Oh well that’s not really _my_ problem.” IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE TELLING ME _GOD?!_ ” Dean’s breathing had become heavy and his fists had clenched even tighter, because man oh man was he ready to take a swing.

                “No- no of course not! I- I would never! If, if I had known! If only I had known, I would have stepped in! I would have come back to them so much earlier!” Chuck took a breath, “Dean you have to understand, try to understand. I didn’t know.. I didn’t even know I was me until a couple of months ago.”

    “You didn’t know you were _God_?” Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.

                “I know it sounds ridiculous,” Chuck puffed out a non-humorous laugh, “and it’s a very long story. One that I will tell you, I promise, but not today. Instead I need to ask you of a favor.”

    “Oh really?” Dean asked incredulously.

                “I know, I know,” Chuck ran his hands down his face then rubbed his scruff, “You’ve already done so much for the world, for humanity. But you are the only person I can ask.”

     “Well then ask already.”

                Chuck took a deep breath. “Just hear me out okay?”

  When Dean didn’t respond Chuck took it as a “please continue”.

                “As I said I’m back in heaven and as you can imagine there’s a lot of work that has to be done and a lot of angels to deal with. I have to fix many things Dean. So many things. But I know that there’s one thing I won’t be able to fix, at least not on my own,” He took another breath, “the Archangels. All thy do is fight. The four that I was hoping I could rely on the most, all they do is fight and cause havoc. They are going to try to get the other angels to choose sides, it’s as if they want a civil war. Before all of heaven knows I’m back I have to get my eldest ones under control. The problem is that they’ve forgotten that they are family. If there is one person that knows how to make a family…” He looked at Dean expectantly.

    “Me? You want me to what now?”

“Raise my four eldest sons.”

    Dean opened his mouth but nothing came out because he had no idea what to say, he couldn’t even focus on one single thought enough to form words. He closed his mouth and stared at Chuck like he had grown a second head.

                “Now don’t worry. They will be in children vessels and they would have very little grace, just enough to sustain their vessels. I of course couldn’t just throw four fully powerful _archangels_ at you, could I? No, no. Also, I will provide a wonderful house for you all and money will not be a problem. I will also understand that if the hunting opportunity shows itself you will need to take action but I assume it’s known that you can’t raise four children while hunting full time.”

     Dean nodded. “Right, right.” He muttered out still trying to process everything that he had just been told.

                “So you’ll do it then?” Chuck asked, eyes shined with hope.

   “What?” Dean questioned, his head snapped up to look at Chuck.

                “You’ll take them? You’ll take them and raise them to be a family again?” Chuck said with a smile.

    “Do you really think that they would want me to take care of them? And why is Lucifer not in the cage? And Michael? I thought Gabriel was dead. Do you know how hard Sam and I worked to stop them and they just aren’t locked up anymore?”

                “Oh they won’t have any memories of you and your brother or even Castiel. I had to pull Michael and Lucifer from their cage, I truly think it’s for the best. I know they caused many problems and that’s because I was gone. Dean, I wouldn’t have let them out and neglected the work of your brother and yourself if I didn’t think it was for the best. Gabriel was not dead, simply hiding, something he is very good at.”

    “Okay, then what are you going to tell them? What will they think? What would be the reason that they would be living with me?”

                “Foster Father? I don’t know Dean, I’ll think of something. I just need a yes or a no first.”

     Dean looked past Chuck and out the window. Why would he agree to this? It was crazy. Raise four archangel children. No way. No sane person would ever even consider it. Then again, Dean never was sane, which might explain why he had considered it.

                “You’re the only one that can do this Dean. Not even I would do it properly, as has already been proven. You’ll give them a family, make them a family again. Raise them right, something I couldn’t do.”

     Dean drug his eyes away from the aqua sky and made himself look at Chuck.

     “I’m not a family man. I’m no… I’m no father.”

                “You’re wrong. You are. You’ve been a family man for as long as you’ve been alive and you’ve been a father since you were four. You’re a natural dad.” Chuck replied, a look of disbelief had been on his face, because how could Dean Winchester think he wouldn’t be an excellent father?

     “If I say no. Then what? What will you do with them?”

                “I’m not sure… an actual foster home perhaps?”

    Oh hell no. Dean knows how those systems work and even if Chuck, God, bent it around. It was still too much of a risk. Too much was left up in the air. Anything could happen. Could happen to four defenseless confused kids. They could get split up, or hurt, or beat. Anything. If God is really as busy as he says than how will he keep an eye on them to make sure that those things don’t happen? Dean just had a feeling that God would drop the ball on that, like he had before.

    “No,” Dean shook his head, “No. No way.”

                “Is that a yes to raising them?”

Dean slowly nodded his confirmation, knowing that his entire life was about to be turned upside but not knowing exactly how turned it was going to get.


	2. Breaking the Big News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I just have to say thank you for the lovely comments, the kudos and the bookmarks! It all means so much. I'm so incredibly happy that people are excited for this story. Now I am going to make a couple of promises. 1) Why Chuck didn't know he was God will eventually be explained. 2)The kiddies are going to be coming in soon but we still need some explanations so just be patient, you won't have to wait long. Some other things, I have some big plans for this fic and a lot of ideas in my head and written down but id there is anything that you love seeing in kidfic stories or just think would be cute then please comment it and maybe I'll add it in! I hope you all enjoy this chapter <3  
> Love,  
> Mess

                Dean walks into the bunker trying to think of a way to explain what just happened to him to Sam and Cas. He ends up wandering into the kitchen where Cas is trying to make soup, he looks up from the boiling broth when Dean walks in.

     “Is everything alright Dean?” Cas asks, noticing the dazed look Dean is wearing.

   Dean doesn’t answer, doesn’t even acknowledge that he heard Cas. Instead he continues to walk until he runs into the metal prepping table. He stumbles and catches himself from falling backwards by clutching onto the table.

  “Dean?” Cas asks again.  

 This time Dean’s head snaps up to look at Castiel.

   “Is everything alright Dean?”

  “No.Yes.Ihavenoidea.” Dean rushes everything out with a puzzled look on his face.

      Castiel makes his way to Dean’s side and places a hand on his shoulder, his face showing his concern.

       “What happened? Are you hurt?”

   “God is back.” Is Deans reply.

   Cas pulls his hand away as if he had been burned while also taking a step away from the man in front of him. “That is not a humorous joke.”

    “I’m not joking Cas,” Dean doesn’t look away, he keeps eye contact with the angel, “he’s back and-“ Dean shakes his head, “and he asked me to watch the archangels, to raise them again. You can go up to Heaven Cas, you can check. I don’t know if all the angels know yet. He told me that only the arches knew but that might have changed… I don’t know, but I know he’s back.”

  Cas is quite as he stars at Dean his features completely stoic. Minutes pass with the two staring at each other. Den doesn’t know what to say so he just waits for his friend’s reaction.

 Cas opens his mouth to break the echoing silence, “What did you say?” He asks.

   “What?”

  “Did you agree to raise the archangels?”

    Dean nods. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  Cas mimics the motion, nodding silently.

  “I will be back.” Cas says before flying away.

     “Way to Terminator, Cas.” Dean says to the now empty room while walking to the stove to finish (fix) the soup Cas was making.

~~~~~~~~

    It’s five past nine when Cas returns, about eight he left. Sam and Dean are eating a late dinner after having ganked an angry spirit.

   “He is indeed back, and he wanted me to tell you something Dean.” Cas says taking a seat next to Dean at the wood table.

  “What?” Sam asks confusion clearly written on his face.

 “You haven’t told him?” Castiel asks Dean.

   Dean swallows the mouthful of spaghetti he has. “Well, no”

  “Tell me what?” Sam demands, obviously annoyed.

    “God is back.” Castiel states calmly.

  Sam’s reaction is not calm…

~~~~~~~~

   It took an hour to get Sam to settle down about the news of God being back in action and another hour and a half to get him to stop freaking out about Dean saying he would raise the archangels.

     “This is crazy.” Sam says with his head in his hands.

   “When have our lives ever been anything but crazy?” Dean asks.

       “Dean?” Cas asks, “May I tell you what my father asked me to tell you?”

    “Oh yeah, go on.”

         “He said that the house will be in Texas and that by the end of the week it will be ready for you to go to and that he will be there when you arrive so you can talk,” Cas starts to walk in the direction of his room, “He also asked me to help you raise them.”    

    Dean nods at everything Cas says until the ending. “Wait, what?” He follows behind Cas.

       “He wants you to help me raise them?”

    “You don’t think that I can be a good parent also?”

        “What? That’s not what I said. I just…” Dean stops walking, “why do you even want to?”

      Castiel stops and turns to look at Dean. “What do you mean?”

          “Why would you want to raise four kids? Why would you want to live with me? Because I know Sam isn’t going to come. He’s going to keep hunting, I know it. You could go back to Heaven, you could do, well, anything. Why would you want to stay here, with me, raising angel kids?”

     The angel takes a step closer to the green eyed man in front of him. “Why wouldn’t I want to stay with you? Dean you mean a lot to me and I am… I am excited for the experience we will have while raising the archangels,” he remains eye contact with Dean so he knows how serious he is, “besides, as you have said they are still going to be angels. You’ll need some help with them. Some holy help.”

  Dean is left standing speechless as his angel walks into his bedroom. Wait- what? His angel? Where did that come from? Dean thinks to himself as he goes to the locker room for a well-deserved hot shower.

~~~~~~~~

   Sam doesn’t know what to do. His brother is going to raise angels, _archangels_ , and move to Texas to live with Cas. That’s a lot to take in and yes he freaked and you would have too thank you very much.

      Back to the point. Sam doesn’t know what to do. Dean didn’t ask Sam to come with him, but he’s going to. Right? Why wouldn’t he? Here’s the thing, Sam doesn’t know if he wants to go. There’s no part of him that wants to raise the arches and he has finally started thinking of the bunker as his home, well a homey kind of place. He can’t just leave it. Then there’s hunting. Dean said that there’s no way he can raise them and hunt at the same time, Dean said he realized that and is okay with giving it up, and Sam agrees, he knows it’s the truth. The thing though is that Sam doesn’t want to stop hunting, he doesn’t want to give up learning everything he can about the Men of Letters, someone has to do what he’s doing learning and rewriting it and hunting it’s not like they are a plentiful group. He stopped wanting a normal life a long, long time ago. So what does he do? Does he go with his brother and Cas even if that’s not really what he wants? Would that even be for the best, because let’s be honest here, Sam isn’t the best with kids? Dean has always been the one to deal with kids, it comes naturally to him.

        “Good morning Samuel.” Cas greets, walking into the kitchen.

    “Oh, uh, morning Cas.” Sam replies still stuck in his thoughts.

          Cas looks at Sam quizzically but doesn’t say anything. It’s much harder to get Sam to open up to him than Dean. Dean always tells Cas what is on his mind, while Sam usually dismisses him. Dean will notice something is going on with Sam and he will ask him about it. So Cas will just let Dean deal with Sam.

    It’s quite as the young Winchester eats scrambled eggs and toast while the angel reads the newspaper. Dean walks in as Sam is washing his dishes, he has his robe on and is yawning.

     “Anything good going on in the world Cas?” Dean asks while pouring himself a cup of coffee.

   “A dog saved kittens from a burning building. I think that is nice.”

        Dean looks over at Sam who has been drying his plate for over a minute. He looks at Cas and raises an eyebrow in question. Cas shrugs and goes back to reading the paper, handing Dean the sports section.

      “Everything alright there Sammy?” Dean asks keeping his eyes on his brother while taking the offered paper from Castiel.

     Sam doesn’t answer, simply continues to intently dry the plate.

  “Pretty sure that the plate is dry.”

       Sam still doesn’t respond. Dean moves from his chair to Sam’s side, who doesn’t seem to notice. He reaches over and plucks the plate from his brother’s hand. Which does elicit a response, Sam jumps back.

   “Oh, hey Dean.” Sam says nonchalantly.

  Dean raises his eyebrow yet again. “You okay?”

    “Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Sam scoffs.

   Dean looks over to Cas who has already looked up from the paper, they share a look before turning to Sam at the same time.

      “What? What?!” Sam asks looking back and forth between his brother and the angel.

   “What’s going on man?” Dean asks with a sigh.

        Sam is silent and continues to look between Dean and Cas. It’s easy to deal with one of them but as soon as Cas and Dean team up it’s well… it’s intimidating.

  “I was thinking.” Sam tells them with a shrug.

      “About?” Dean questions further.

    Sam shrugs again and looks past Dean towards the exit.

       “No way man,” Dean grabs Sam by the shoulder so that he can’t try and make an escape, “What the hell are you thinking about that’s making you zone out?”

   Sam heaves a heavy sigh and looks between Dean and Cas before looking directly at Dean.

      “I’ve just been thinking…” Sam shrugs again, “it’s just that, ya know, I don’t really know if I want to go to Texas with you and Cas… ya know?”

   “Okay?” Dean says dragging out the word, “is that it?”

       “Uh, well, yeah.”

   “Sam I kinda figured you weren’t gonna come.”

        “What? Why?” Sam asks not knowing if he should feel relieved that Dean isn’t upset or mad that Dean isn’t upset or mad that Dean doesn’t want him to come.

    “I know you, dude, and what Cas and I are going to do isn’t you. We will still see each other but I can’t ask you to do something that’s going to make you unhappy. You’re doing something that you feel right doing, so keep doing it, but you’ll always be able to come to Texas if you ever want.”

      Cas nods along to all of Deans explanation, Sam will always have a home with Dean and himself.

    “You don’t want me to come with you?” Sam questions.

        “I want you to be happy Sammy. If you’re going to be happy coming with us then come but if you aren’t than stay here.”

    Sam nods clearly thinking about the things that his brother just said to him.


	3. Moving Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and enjoy this chapter, it is definitely the longest one yet. As always the kudos, bookmarks and comments are appreciated. I love everyone who is enjoying this story the encouragement is amazing thank you all so much! The kiddies are going to be coming into the story in the next chapter say yay!! Have a wonderful week <3  
> Love,  
> Mess

Dean puts the last box into the back of the Impala. Sam is standing by the door to the bunker and Cas is waiting in the passenger seat. Dean makes his way over to his brother and shoves his hands into his pockets.

   “You can come down whenever you want.”

  “Yeah, I know. If you ever need any help, just call you know.” Sam says awkwardly.

  Dean holds back a sigh, it’s always so tense and awkward whenever they part ways. Just as Dean is about to offer a hug he’s pulled into one by his brother. The brothers hug it out, Dean pats Sam on the back and they both take a step back.

     “I’ll see you soon Sammy.” Dean pats Sam on the shoulder.

   Dean gets in Baby and starts her up, he doesn’t let himself look back he’s not going to e all dramatic and make this some chick flick moment, no thanks.

  “This isn’t like the other times you and Sam have parted ways. You are going you separate ways on good terms.” Cas says grabbing Dean’s attention.

     “Yeah, yeah. You’re right.” Dean agrees pulling onto the road.

~~~~~~~~

    To be completely honest Dean didn’t know what to expect about the house. Cas had told him the town and the street address of course but other than that they hadn’t really talked about it, they haven’t really talked about anything, so Dean didn’t really know anything about the house. He definitely wasn’t expecting a three story house with a porch and a two car garage.

  “Are you sure this is the house?” Dean asks pulling into the driveway.

     “Yes, I’m sure.” Cas answers getting out of the car.

   Dean is skeptical as he slowly gets out of the car. Cas is halfway up the walkway when the front door opens and Chuck steps out onto the porch. He spreads his arms and smiles.

     “Nice, right?” Chuck says proudly, practically puffing his chest out in pride.

  “It’s very nice.” Castiel agrees stopping at the steps that lead onto the porch.

     “It’s big.” Dean states standing slightly behind Cas.

  “Wait until you see the inside,” Chuck beams, enthusiasm radiating off of him, “well come on! I’ll give you the tour.”

    The small scruffy man turns on his heel and walks back inside. Dean and Cas share a look, Cas telling Dean to mind his manners and Dean telling Cas to shut it, before walking up the two steps and through the front door. Dean is shocked into silence merely by the sight of the entrance. It’s… well it’s and actual entrance. There are stairs directly across from the front door leading up. A door, which Dean assumes is a closet, is next to the staircase. Doorways are on either side, the one on the right leading into the living room and the left to the dining room.

    Chuck showed them the living room which has a door that leads downstairs to a playroom has a door that leads downstairs to a playroom, well actually Chuck called it a den but Dean is planning on making it a playroom for the kids.. (shut up about it). Downstairs is also where the laundry room was and a half bath. Then they looked at the dining room and the kitchen, which was amazing and Dean is definitely in love with it, the pantry was great too, the second floor has the master bedroom  (which has it’s own bathroom), a bathroom and three other rooms. The third floor has a bathroom and three more rooms and then there was the impressive garage.

~~~~~~~~

   Now the three are currently in the kitchen sitting at the island. Cas has a cup of coffee though he hasn’t drank any of it he has just kept his hands wrapped around the mug. Dean has a water bottle and Chuck has whiskey.

     “So you’ll have a month to do whatever you want to the house; paint, decorate, remodel. Whatever you want. If you need help with painting or anything just text or call and I’ll send someone down.” Chuck explains before taking a drink.

   “Okay, sounds good. I just want to kno-“

       Chuck cuts Dean off. “Money!” He says loudly like he forgot, reaching into his pocket he pulls out a black credit card, “unlimited.” He slaps it down on the counter and then taps it twice.

    When Dean doesn’t make any move to take it Cas reaches for it and then slides it into his own pocket.

   “Can I ask my question now?”

      “Oh that wasn’t it?”

     “No, the money wasn’t it.” Dean half snaps.

   Chuck looks down at the table sheepishly while Cas gives Dean a stern look telling him to control his temper, Dean pointedly ignores it. Of course Cas knows how Dean feels about handouts, but his father isn’t giving them a handout. He is simply doing what is right and giving them the money need to raise four children, besides he is sure that Dean is going to get a job so they won’t just be ‘using’ God.

        “How old are they going to be?” Dean questions, obviously referring to the archangels.

   “Oh right, good question,” Chuck nods, scratching his beard, “Well, Michael will be eight. Lucifer six, Raphael four and Gabriel two.”

     Dean bobs his head taking in the information.

   “Do they know?” Castiel asks and finally takes a sip of his coffee.

       “Well, um,” Chuck taps his fingers on the counter and looks around the kitchen, “the thing is,” he clears his throat, “not, not really….”

     “Not really?” Dean and Cas repeat at the same time.

      “Well, I just haven’t figured out how to tell them yet. I still have a month though.” He replies with a wave of his hand to dismiss the conversation.

    “Alright Chuck, be honest here. Are you really even planning on telling them?” Dean asks not moving his hard look away from the almighty being across from him.

        “I… don’t know. I’m thinking about it. I just want to find the best way to go about this whole thing> I don’t know if it will be better to tell them before they are reverted in age or afterwards, when their tempers won’t end with destruction of entire countries.”

     Chuck finishes his reasoning on why he hasn’t told, and may not, tell the archangels he looks expectantly too Cas and Dean for a moment.

   “Are you waiting for our opinion?” Dean questions clearly confused.

       Chuck bobs his head up and down so quickly Cas is surprised it didn’t hurt his vessel.

    “I think you should de-age them and then explain everything.” Castiel says with finality.

       “I agree with Cas.”

   The green eyed man taps his fingers on the counter not realizing the looks that both Cas and Chuck are giving him until he looks up.

     “What?”

   “I just wasn’t expecting you to agree with that. Chuck explains, Cas nodding along.

     “I think that’s what’s for the best. For them and the safety of other people.” Dean shrugs and takes a swig from his water bottle.

                ~~~~~~~~

    Two and a half weeks into being home owners and Dean would have to say that it’s fucking awesome owning your own house. You can do whatever you want and make it look how you want, it’s completely fucking awesome. At first he had thought that Cas and himself wouldn’t agree on anything, but the duo actually agreed on most things and if they didn’t agree they found a compromise. Though there were a couple things Dean had agreed to simply because he knew it would make Cas happy. Such as having a tacky cookie jar shaped like a bee hive or the ugly welcoming mat that says ‘Welcome to our Home’ (he turned down the ‘Welcome to our own Heaven’ and wasn’t going to budge on that one). What Dean doesn’t know is that Cas agreed to a few things too, just to make Dean happy. Like the high tech vacuum, that they really didn’t need because they already had a vacuum, or the seventeen picture frames, that they also don’t need because they don’t even have seventeen pictures, but Cas agreed to the small things because of how happy Dean was while picking them out.

    The kitchen is white and dark wood with a lot of plants, as soon as you walk in you can tell Dean and Cas decorated it together the both of them shine through so much. They painted the dining room light teal, at Cas’ request because he wanted something bright, the floor is hard wood and they got a wood table set. Dean insisted that the living room be natural colors because it makes it seem more homey and comfortable that way. So the living room was painted tan and a light brown couch was bought, they had deep brown carpets put in, Dean put blankets everywhere, there are currently four books on the coffee table.

    The master bedroom is decorated un maroons and grays, both Dean and Cas love it, Cas doesn’t sleep but Dean put Cas’ clothes and few belongings in the room so Cas just assumed that it will be both their room and it hasn’t been talked about more than that. The bathroom attached to the master room is almost all white, Dean wanted to be able to see how clean it was all the time. The only other room finished at the moment is the quest room which is tan and purple. Dean absolutely refused to decorate any of the rooms that would be the children’s because he wants them to choose how their personal living space will look, because who doesn’t enjoy doing that, Cas and him loved everything they had done.

      Right now the pair are trying to decide a color for the room that is going to become their office area. Dean wants a calming color such as light purple, Cas does not care what color the office is which is actually annoying Dean because Cas isn’t helping at all.

   “Don’t you think that we should talk?” Cas asks while reclining back into the couch, his legs on the coffee table.

     “I’m trying to talk to you Castiel but you won’t look at any of the colors!” Dean frustratingly shouts, picking up the color swatches as emphasis.

   “I am not talking about colors Dean. They are all purple anyway I think that we should talk about the situation we are in.”

    “The situation we are in is that these aren’t all the same color and you won’t help me pick one.”

   “Dean.” The angel sighs while sitting upright.

       Dean gives his own sigh in return and runs a hand through his hair. He relaxes back into the couch, temporarily forgetting about the twenty different shades of purple on the table in front of them. Dean knew this moment was coming, he had been waiting for it and here it is.

   “We are going to be raising four children together. Four angel children.” Cas states looking at Dean.

  “I’m well aware, thank you.” Dean sarcastically replies keeping eye contact with Cas and somehow managing to not roll his eyes.

     Cas does not manage to not roll his eyes and Dean is shocked when they don’t get sruck form the force that Cas had rolled them.

     “We haven’t talked about anything other than decorating. We don’t know what rooms they should go int. Education. Day car. Jobs. Discipline. There are many things we need to talk about.”

    “Kids don’t have jobs, Cas.” Dean jokingly says.

   Cas doesn’t crack a smile instead just continues to look at the green eyed man in silence.

      Dean sighs again. “Alright, alright. Let’s see… I think they should choose their rooms but I do want the younger ones on the same floor as us. Education, well its summer right now so there’s that and I don’t know I haven’t thought about it much, I guess. I also haven’t thought about day care. I think we both know I’m going to get a job.”

    Cas thinks for a few seconds, mostly over the fact that Dean just said that he wants the younger ones closer to ‘us’. He isn’t going to bring that up now though because it’s not the right time.

   “I was thinking about homeschooling.” Cas finally responds.

       “Homeschooling? Why?”

    “I think it would be better to have an angel teach other angels. I will know their needs better. It might be harder to socialize them but school isn’t the only thing that offers children to meet and become friends. We can choose what they learn and they can set their own pace. There are many advantages to homeschooling, I believe.”

      “Makes sense. If you want to teach them then I’m not going to stop you.”

   A small smile breaks onto Castiel’s face and Dean can’t help but give his own small smile in return.

     “I also figured that you would be getting a job,” Cas states with a small quick nod, “Now discipline.”

   “What about it?” Dean asks the smile no longer on smiling.

       “I think it is best that we get on the same page about it.” Cas explains calmly in his even deep voice.

    Dean takes a breath and thinks for a couple of seconds before answering.

       “We don’t even know them yet. We don’t really know their personalities or anything about them. I think discipline is something we have to figure out along the way.”

   Cas is silent, it’s obvious that he is mulling over what Dean just said.

      “That is a good point. I agree.” He finally states.

     Dean is slightly surprised that Cas actually agreed with him on this matter but he doesn’t push it any further instead he sits forward and starts going through the color swatches again, this time determined to get an opinion out of the feathered bastard next to him. He’s sure that there are going to be a few more conversations like the one they just had but for now he is done with that and just wants to make a decision on one damn color.


	4. The Kiddies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! I hope you're all well. I'm very happy to be getting this update posted, the kiddies have finally made their appearance yay!! Tell me what you think of them. This is actually much longer than it was when I first wrote it, changes just happened along the way and things were added, so I hope that it is good and you all enjoy it! Now I can't make any promises but as of right now I want to get another chapter up this month, I do have some of the next chapter already written but I don't know if I still like what I have so we will see what happens with that. I do have a couple of things that will keep me busy this month, my birthday, my best friends birthday, Mother's Day and finals. Even with all of that going on I will try my best to get chapter 5 up this month, fingers crossed!!   
>  (Also I've been working on some other stories and writing smut. I've never written smut before so I want to practice because I have a feeling that there will be at least one smut scene in this story so I want to be comfortable with my writing of smut before I try to do anything that that with this story.)   
> As always comments are welcomed , fedback is nice, and kudos are loved<3   
>  Love,  
>  Mess

Michael is nervous but he isn’t letting it show because if he does than his little brothers are going to get worried. He knows that the men that are going to take care of them are nice, he has been told so, and he trusts Chuck (his father even if he doesn’t feel like his father). He trusts him though and he said that the men that they are going to live with are good people. He taps his fingers on his leg while looking out the window. Gabriel is snoring in his car seat, he fell asleep fifteen minutes ago and has been snoring for eleven. Raphael is in the back seat pretending to read with Lucifer reminding him every three minutes that he can’t read. Michael holds in a sigh. He hopes that everything will be okay, that these men really are good and nice.

   The car comes to a stop, Michael looks forward. Chuck is in the passenger seat, he turns around to look at the boys with a huge smile on his face.

      “Are you all excited?” He asks obviously excited himself.

    Michael can’t see his brother’s reactions but he forces a smile himself and nods. Chuck and the Angel, Michael actually can’t remember his name it was really long, that drove them both get out of the car and help the kids out of their car seats. Michael offers to hold and carry Gabe so that Chuck and the Angel can get their bags out of the trunk. The four brothers stand on the curb to wait.

   “This is dumb.” Lucifer grumbles out, his arms crossed across his chest.

  “Chuck says it’s what’s best for us.” Michael replies while brushing Gabriel’s hair out of his eyes, he then puts his hand on Raphael’s shoulder and pulls him closer.

  Lucifer scoffs in response kicking his toe against the concrete.

   “Ready?” Chuck asks still with a huge smile and holding two small suitcases.

     “For you to get rid of us? Yeah I’m over the moon.” Lucifer mutters under his breath before turning on his heel and stomping in front of the rest of the small group.

   Michael takes another deep breath and keeping his head held high he follows Chuck to the front door. This is going to be okay, everything is going to be just fine.

 

~~~~~~~~

    Dean is nervous be he’s trying extremely hard not to show it. Though he has cleaned the entire house twice and has been up since four in the morning. Cas had tried to stop him from vacuuming the living room a third time and let’s just say that didn’t end too well, Dean may or may not have thrown the remote at Cas’ head… and then a coaster… followed by a magazine. He apologized afterwards okay!

    It’s just what if he really isn’t good at taking care of kids, at being a father figure? What if he fucks them up? What if they hate him? Just as Dean is ready to scrub the second floor bathroom yet again, the doorbell rings. Dean makes himself not jump up from the kitchen island and instead stands at a normal pace. Once he gets to the front entrance Cas is already opening the door. A little boy with dirty blonde hair stomps in first, he isn’t paying attention to where he is going since he’s too busy pouting and runs into Deans legs. Cas is by the front door talking to chuck who has three other boys around him, Dean and the one who ran into him are closer to the stairs. He looks down at the kid who is looking up at him.

   “Hey.” Dean smiles at the boy whose bottom lip is sticking out and eyebrows are drawn together, it’s hilarious to see the expression on such a young face but he manages not to laugh.

    “Hi.” The boy replies quickly before sticking his bottom lip out again.

  The green eyed man crouches down in front of the little boy with hazel eyes and sticks his hand out. “I’m Dean.”

    The boy uncrosses his arms and shakes Dean’s hand with his own tiny one. “I’m Lucifer.”

  If Dean wasn’t a skilled hunter and had been trained for years to not let his emotions get the best of him, he probably would have reeled back a bit and given the kid a good once over. Instead he gives a small smile and subtly looks over the kid, and man is this weird. It’s so weird for so many reasons and on so many levels. This six year old almost destroyed the world and possessed his brother.

  Dean reminds himself that Lucifer has no memories of him or Sam and that he’s just a little kid now, a grumpy little kid.

   “What’s with all the pouting?”

   “I’m not pouting, this is just dumb!” Lucifer answers stomping his foot at the end to show his annoyance.

   “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.” Dean ruffles Lucifer’s hair and stands up to meet the rest of the kids.

   Lucifer makes a noise showing his annoyance but doesn’t say anything. Dean makes his way over to Chuck and Cas, he can hear little feet tapping behind him.

   “Dean!” Chuck says loudly and happily.

   Dean gives a small smile and nod in return.

     “I was just telling Cas how excited the boys are to finally meet you both. You’ve already met Lucifer of course. This is Michael,” his hand drops to the head of the tallest boy, “he’s holding Gabriel and of curse Raphael.” Chuck motions to the dark skinned boy.

    Michael has dark hair that looks almost black it contrasts against his pale skin the combination makes his deep blue eyes stand out, he looks completely neutral to everything that is happening but he is holding onto Gabe protectively. Raphael is dark skinned, he has dark eyes and dark hair that is cut short he is holding book close to his chest. Gabriel has the same color hair has Lucifer, Dean can’t see the color of his eyes but right now the only difference in looks between the two is that Gabriel has freckles.

  Dean waves to Michael and Raphael since Gabe is sleeping, the boys shyly wave back.

     “We have their stuff here,” Chuck motions to the four small suitcases, “and I think the only thing left to do is goodbyes.”

   “Actually,” Dean quickly says, “can we talk for a couple of seconds Chuck?”

    “Oh, sure,” Chuck nods and follows Dean to the porch, “is everything okay Dean?”

   “Yeah, yeah. It’s just that Cas and I have been talking and we both think that you should visit the kids as much as possible.”

    “Oh! Well I was planning on visiting.”

      “I don’t mean every five years,” Dean says harshly, “I mean as.much.as. _possible._ ”

    “Dean, I don’t exactly have the most flexible job. I do wan-“

      “Make it flexible.”

    Dean doesn’t want to hear any of Chuck’s excuses, he doesn’t have time or patience for it.

       “They are you’re sons Chuck. Cas and I are perfectly okay with raising them, we’re – we’re… we are happy to do it, but if you don’t visit them then you’ll never have any type of connection with them.”

    Chuck stays quiet, he isn’t look at Dean but looking just past him instead. Dean crosses his arms over his chest and waits for the smaller man’s response. Cas and him have talked about this at length and really the only reason he is even doing this is for Castiel. He thought that Cas should be the one to talk to Chuck, since everything he is about to say is mostly Cas’ ideas and what Cas wants to happen but the blue eyed man insisted that Dean would be better at it because Cas thought he would lose his temper too fast.

   “Also, you need to establish some type of relationship with all the angels. They all respect you and will listen to you but they shouldn’t do what you say on blind faith, they shouldn’t be mindless minions.”

    Now Chuck looks at Dean and there is something in his eyes that Dean can’t place.

  “You and Cas talked about this?” He asks.

     “Yes.”

    “There are many angels.”

       “Not as many as their used to be.”

   Now Chuck looks down at his feet. “I know, and it hurts to know that. I’m sorry.”

     “You’re sorry?” Dean takes a short breath, he doesn’t want to get into this right now but all he can think about is Cas ranting about everything that had happened in the past, all he can see is the hurt in Castiel’s eyes as he recalled the massacres, “it hurts you? Because you were the one that had to go through multiple wars? You witnessed the brutal mass murders of your own kind?”

   “Dean-“

      “I don’t want to hear it Chuck. You’re going to visit those four boys once a month. End of conversation.”

   Dean doesn’t leave any room for debate. He pushes past ‘God’ and goes back into the house. Dean’s heart clenches at the sight he sees when he steps into the entrance. Cas is sitting on the floor and Raphael is sitting next to him as the blue eyed man reads the book that the child had been holding. Michael is standing behind Raphael, still holding a sleeping Gabriel and Lucifer is standing directly next to his older brother, arms touching.

   Cas looks up at Dean, the question is clear on his face. Dean gives a small nod which seems to please the angel if the half smile is anything to go by. He walks over to stand by Cas, who has stopped reading now. Chuck comes in and walks over to say his goodbyes to the three awake boys. The two men go over to the stairs to give the group some space. Dean sits down, Cas takes a seat next to him on the step.

  Dean watches Chuck get down on one knee to talk to the boys. Cas leans in closer to him.

    “We definitely need to get them more belongings. Those suitcases aren’t very large.” The angel whispers.

      Dean bites the inside of his cheek to keep the huge smile that for some reason is trying to break through. He doesn’t know why but knowing that Castiel doesn’t like the fact that the brothers have hardly anything bother him gives Dean a swell of pride and happiness deep in his chest.

   “I agree.” Dean replies back just as quietly.

      “Alright, talk to everyone soon.” Chuck announces, standing up.

   Another wave of nervousness crashes over Dean and floods through his veins because this is for real now, all of this, it’s final and it’s kind of scary maybe one of the scariest things he has ever had to face.

~~~~~~~~

     As soon as the door shuts Gabriel wakes up. He lifts his head off of Michaels shoulder and the oldest brother starts rubbing the youngest ones back. Gabe looks at Michael and blinks twice then looks around, he starts sobbing. Michael flinches back startled because he has never done that before. He continues rubbing his back and Lucifer pushes closer to him, his sour mood completely forgotten as he starts making faces at Gabe to try and get him to laugh. Raphael looks up at his brothers in alarm, not entirely knowing what to do he tries rubbing Gabe’s leg soothingly. Nothing the three are doing are working and Michael is starting to get upset and worried because he can’t calm his baby brother down and he’s the oldest he’s supposed to take care of them.

     Michael sees Dean try to reach for Gabriel, and when did he even get that close to them, he jerks backwards which only results in Gabe shrieking then crying harder.

  “We can do it, he’s our brother.” Michael snaps.

     Lucifer glares up at Dean. “Yeah!”

   Dean holds his hands up in surrender, Michael squints and gives the man a once over.

      “Hey, I have a little brother too. I know what it’s like being protective of your family. I just want to help.” Dean explains calmly.

   Michael doesn’t care though, he doesn’t want this man’s help. He wants to make his brother feel better by himself. He doesn’t need some strangers help.

     “I don’t need help.” He says loudly over the sobbing.

   Castiel opens his mouth and Michael is ready to fight him too, but Dean touches the other man’s elbow. It’s like the two have a conversation just by looking at each other. Michael doesn’t know if he should be amazed or freaked out, he decides to ignore it instead. The pair walk back over to the stairs and sit down again, they don’t look at him or his brothers. They just start talking to each other. Michael returns his attention to his littlest brother.

~~~~~~~~

     It’s been almost thirty minutes, Gabriel’s crying hasn’t let up at all. Raphael is now frowning and holding his hands over his ears, his book forgotten on the ground. Lucifer is trying to help Michael but he’s looking incredibly frazzled and his eyes are now glassy. Michael’s expression has become stoic and he’s making a point to not look at Dean and or Cas.

     “Are you sure we shouldn’t step in, Dean? This whole scene is rather upsetting.” Cas says, a frown tugging on his features as he looks at the boys that are less than ten feet away.

    “I’m positive.”

   Dean has had a lot of experience with kids. From helping raise Ben for a year to living in half way homes. Dean knows how kids react to being thrown into a new situation, a new situation with strange adults that they don’t know if they can trust. Michael’s reacting how Dean knows he would have been reacting. The id is pushing Cas and Dean away, he isn’t going to ask for their help because if they don’t give it then he will be let down. All the adults can do is wait so they can show them that they are going to help them and be here for them.

    Two more minutes pass and Dean can feel Castiel’s resolve wearing thin. Just when Dean thinks he’s going to have to step in so that Cas doesn’t become extremely upset, Gabriel throws up all over himself and Michael.

     Lucifer jumps backwards, Raphael gags and slides away, Michael freezes. The oldest looks down at the mess that is all over himself and Gabe then looks over to Dean and Cas.

      “Can we help?” Dean asks with no sarcasm or annoyance in his tone just genuine curiosity.

   Michael nods eyes wide.

     “Okay, Cas can you get Gabriel and Michaels suitcases and we can all go up to the bathroom together.”

   Dean doesn’t think that the boys will want to be separated so it’s just easier to move everyone to the bathroom than to even suggest parting ways and having another freak out.

    “The green and blue ones.” Lucifer points to the suitcases to show Castiel.

    Castiel thanks him and the six head upstairs to the bathroom. The walk to the bathroom is completely silent. Once they get into the room, Dean gently takes Gabe from his brother and sits him on the sinks counter. Castiel puts the suitcases on the floor, Raphael sits down next to the luggage and Lucifer is hovering by Dean’s legs.

   “You need to take your clothes off Michael.” Dean instructs while taking off Gabe’s messy clothes and soiled diaper.

    Michael nods and looks down at his gross shirt and makes a face. Just as Dean is about to ask Cas to help the boy Cas is already at Michael’s side helping him maneuver the shirt over his head. Once the shirt is off Cas goes to the bath and turns it on. Dean excuses himself and says that he will be right back, he just has to get towels and wash cloths from the hall closet.

    When he walks back into the room Michael and Gabriel are both in the tub, Cas is kneeling next to it with Lucifer next to him, Raphael is on the toilet looking at a magazine. Dean places the towels on the sink counter then kneels next to Lucifer. He hands a wash cloth to Cas and wets on himself then puts the kid body wash he had bought on it, it smells like strawberries. He can feel Lucifer’s eyes on him so he looks down at the hazels eyes.

    “Do you want to help wash Gabe?” Dean asks holding out the cloth.

   Lucifer nods and takes the cloth from Dean’s hand and immediately starts moving the cloth in slow circles over his baby brother’s skin. Now that Dean can see Gabriel’s eyes he can see that they are nearly the same color as Lucifer’s, only a little lighter. The two look so much alike.

   It doesn’t take long to get the two boys washed, dried and redressed. Either they both like baths or are too out of sorts to put up a fight. Castiel said that he would take the suitcases to the boys’ rooms while Dean made lunch, so Dean is now walking the four boys down to the kitchen. Lucifer and Raphael are ahead of Dean and Michael, each boy is holding one of Gabriel’s hands helping the little boy walk.

    “You’re a good big brother.” Dean feels like it’s what Michael needs to hear right now.

   It catches the boy’s attention, he looks up at Dean with eyes narrowed and a slight frown.

      “I couldn’t calm him down, he threw up. Why did he even do that?” Michael asks clearly upset.

    “Sometimes when someone is crying really hard they suck in too much air and it hurts their stomach and they throw up. It’s just something that happens Michael. It isn’t your fault that it happened and sometimes when someone is crying you can’t do anything to calm them down, they just have to cry.” Dean explains.

   Michael frown gets a little smaller but it’s obvious he still isn’t okay with what happened. He stops walking and looks up at Dean but doesn’t meet the man’s eyes, he twists his fingers in the hem of his shirt. “Thank you.”

    “No big deal.” Dean pats the blue eyed boy on the back.

  The two continue to the kitchen following behind the youngest three.

~~~~~~~~

       After the disastrous morning Michael would have to say that the afternoon is going much better. Dean made amazing burgers for everyone, except Cas who didn’t eat he said he wasn’t hungry. No one has cried, Lucifer’s attitude hasn’t come back and there has been no more throw up (which is always a plus). When they had finished lunch, Cas and Dean showed them around the house. They said that they can decorate their rooms however they want, and the bathrooms on their floors and the playroom. Even though Michael isn’t going to admit it out loud anytime soon, he is pretty excited about picking out the color for his very own room. They were told that this weekend they are going to go shopping for paint and a bunch of other stuff.

   The day goes by in a relaxed breeze, they spend the day in the family room coloring, playing with the few toys Dean and Cas already had and watching two movies. Then the two adults helped the kids get ready for bed and it was nice, this house is nice, Dean and Cas are nice. Michael thinks that maybe t he can be happy here, maybe his brothers can be happy here.

   As Michael is laying in his bed, the extremely comfortable bed, the bed that Dean actually tucked him in to (he didn’t really know how to react to that say he muttered a “Thanks..” and refused to look the man in the eye) As he lays there he prays that this doesn’t go to hell, because he knows if it does it will e the biggest let down in his life.


	5. Castiel Can Paint?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh ugh okay so I'm so freaking happy to finally be updating. I really wanted to update twice in May but it ended up being even crazier than I originally though it would be. As I had said I had Mother's Day, my birthday, finals and my best friends birthday. BUT then I ended up having to get four projects done and I got sick. Then I had prom so I just haven't had time to sit down and get into the creative process and actually write which is sad but it is what it is. I'll be graduating this week though so I'll have a lot of time to write soon which makes me very happy. I'm going to address some things at the end of the chapter so check that out if you want. Now go own and read!!  
> Love,  
> Mess

 

          Lucifer has had enough. It’s Friday now, the day of paint shopping which would be exciting if Lucifer wasn’t so done, because for four days he’s had to heat Michael constantly telling him to behave. “Lucifer don’t touch that.” “Luci, just behave.” “Don’t do anything bad.” Michael keeps telling them that if they’re bad then Dean and Castiel might ot want to keep them so they all have to be good, all the time. Lucifer is sick of it. He is also sick of broccoli and green beans! Since he can’t complain about it though Dean thinks they love them and keeps making them and Lucifer is sick! of! it!

    Right now his is standing beside Dean, they’re both in front of the dresser with some drawers pulled open.

      “Okay Lucifer. What do you want to wear today?” Dean ask looking down to meet Lucifer’s eyes.

     “Nothing.” Lucifer says firmly.

         Dean’s lips twitch into a half smirk. “You have to wear something.”

      “But you asked me what I want to wear and I don’t want to wear anything.”

         “Sadly, wearing nothing isn’t a choice. So come on pick something out.”

       “No.” Lucifer crosses his arms over his chest so that Dean understands him even better.

           “Okay, I’m going to go check on Michael. I’ll be back in five minutes and if you don’t have something picked out then I will pick something out for you.”

        Lucifer watches Dean leave his room before looking back at the drawers. He quickly sees what he wants to wear and grabs his yellow –shirt and tan cargo shorts. He throws the shirt at the bed but it doesn’t make it and lands a couple feet away. He can basically feel the light bulb turn on at his amazing, he smiles at his own genius.

~~~~~~~~

           Dean leans against the doorframe to Michael’s room. The dark haired boy is sitting on the floor trying to tie his shoes. It was a very quick realization that Michael had no idea how to tie his shoes, but for some reason both pairs of shoes that he has have laces. Cas and Dean have no problem tying his shoes for him but Michael has a problem with it. Every time he tries to tie his shoes he eventually gives up and let’s either Dean or Cs help him but he is clearly frustrated by it and he stays upset about it for 10 to 15 minutes then something happens that distracts him from it. Cas has tried teaching him how to tie his shoes a couple of times but the last time Dean was pretty sure that it was going to end in tears so he intervened and put a stop to the lesson.

      Michael huffs in aggravation and looks up to see Dean.

    “Can you do it?” He asks lifting his leg up for emphasis.

        “I think you can do it.” Dean steps into the room and sits across from Michael.

     “I can’t do it.” Even though Michael isn’t psychically frowning, his voice is.

          “Not with that kind of attitude,” Dean states breezily, “show me how Cas taught you.”

               Michael lets out another huff but loops both laces and then sloppily tries to knot them but since he didn’t start with the base of the laces already knotted when he tries to pull the two loops into a bow, they don’t stay and flop back down. He looks up with his eyes narrowed.

     “I told you. I can’t do it.”

   “Yes you can. You just skipped a step.” Dean unties his own shoe and shows Michael what he missed.

      Michael bites his bottom lip in concentration as he tries again, slowly and messily. This time he get it. He looks up at Dean but this time with a huge smile, his face glowing.

      “I’m going to go show Cas!” He shouts, running from the room.

    Dean heaves himself off of the floor, smiling. He takes the few steps to Lucifer’s room and the sight he sees gets rid of his smile. All of the clothes from the dresser are scatter all over the room, which isn’t a lot of clothes but that’s not the point. To top off the entire scene Lucifer is sitting on his bed. Naked.

~~~~~~~~

        “So. What happened here?” Dean asks stepping to the mess and looking around at it.

      Lucifer suddenly regrets everything he did. He doesn’t know how Dean is going to react, what he’s going to do. What if Michael is right? What if now Dean gets rid of them? Or what if he just gets rid of him?! He’ll have to live in the streets! He can’t live on the streets! He can barely write!!

     “Lucifer?” Dean asks again, “Why did you do this?”

    “Uh, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t do this?”

      “Nope.”

  “Then who did it?”

      “A monster snuck in and did it.”                                 

  Something happens to Dean’s face and now Lucifer regrets lying.

    “Alright.” Dean picks up a few items of clothing and places them on the dresser.

        Lucifer watches Dean get underwear, dark jeans and a gray shirt. Not at all what he wanted to wear. The green eyed man puts the clothes on the edge of the bed then gathers the rest of the clothes and lays them on top of the hamper. Then he kneels in front of the bed. Lucifer’s heart beats against his chest, he hopes it doesn’t explode out of his body.

       “You know it’s wrong to lie, right?” Dean asks, and it sounds like a trick question.

    “Yeah…” He mutters in response.

        “So do you want to tell me who really made the mess of your room?”

   If he admits to lying than won’t Dean just be even madder? So shouldn’t he just stick to the lie? Maybe he should just make a run for it and hope for the best, he can join the circus.

     “I told you. It was a monster.”

  Dean’s eyes harden slightly.

        “Okay. Come on get dressed.”

    Dean stands up and grabs the clothes that he put on the end of the bed.

       “I don’t want to wear those.” Lucifer mumbles into his knees.

     “I told you that if you didn’t pick out what you wanted to wear then I was going to pick out something.”

     “But! But I couldn’t! Because of the monster!”

Dean breathes in through his nose and places the outfit in front of Lucifer.

   “Lucifer, I’m not going to tolerate you lying. So come on get dressed and then we will talk about this with Cas.” Dean says his voice not sounding exactly how it usually does, not the same.

    Lucifer shrinks back against the wall.

       “Come on Lucifer, we still have to eat breakfast.” Dean puts his hands under Lucifer’s arms and lifts him up.

     Lucifer screams and he doesn’t entirely know why he does but he does. “Stop! Stop it! Put me down, put me dooooown!!” He wails.

      Immediately Dean drops him back onto the bed. He quickly pushes himself back against the wall, chest heaving as he takes in quickly breathes. Dean’s eyes are wide and his hands are up as he looks at Lucifer.

      “What?” Dean breathes out, almost a whisper.

   Lucifer doesn’t respond, he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t want to end up making Dean even madder, all he can think is that this is probably the biggest mistake of his life. He keeps eyes his on Dean but doesn’t look directly at him. Dean runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head slightly.

      “What was that about, Luc?” His voice sounds different again, but not different like how it did before, it’s a new different.

    “You’re mad.”

        Dean’s eyebrows draw together for half a second and then they relax as he lets out a quiet “Oh.”

     Lucifer keeps his eyes on Dean as the man slowly lowers himself to his eye level, and he raises his hands so they’re visible.

       “Since you’ve known me have I hurt you or your brothers?”

    “No…” Lucifer says, mouth still hidden in his knees, “but it’s only been four days.”

     “That’s true, but I’m going to make a promise to you right now. Okay? Listen to me Lucifer. I will _never_ hurt you or your brothers, no matter how mad I may be. I swear.” His hands are still up.

   “You swear?” Lucifer uncurls slightly.

      “Yes.”

   “You can’t break a swear. It’s against the law.”

       Dean does his half smile. “I don’t ever break my swears.”

     Lucifer nods his approval

~~~~~~~~

      Once Dean finally got Lucifer dressed he would love to say it was smooth sailing from there. He _cannot_ say that though. Really he’s been waiting for this to happen, he knew that the kids were acting all goody-goody because they still didn’t know their surroundings and how Cas and himself would react to bad behavior, but then Lucifer found out and apparently word travels fast through the brothers because the other shoe has officially dropped. After Dean and Cas sat down with Lucifer and told him that lying is bad and isn’t allowed in the house, they told him next time he did it he would be punished. Lucifer had explained that he was just scared, to which Cas said they understood but lying is still not a good thing and that he should never do it again. Dean knows Lucifer is most likely going to do it going (he hopes Cas knows that too).

    Castiel is trying to wrangle Gabriel into shoes. Lucifer and Raphael are sitting by the door, actually ready, but Lucifer keeps turning the pages in Raphael’s book before the younger boy decides he is ready for the next page and every time, without fail, Raphael shrieks (sometimes words, most times not). Dean is trying to convince Michael that they really don’t need to bring three jackets for Gabriel.

    “But what if he gets cold.” Michael argues, perhaps it would be a good point if he hadn’t already said it four times.

     “He will not get so cold that he needs three jackets. It’s summer.” Dean logically reasons for the fourth time.

        “But what if it happens anyway? He’s so tiny. His body is different because it’s small.”

   “His body isn’t that different. We can bring one jacket for him and that’s it. If he suddenly becomes freezing than we will buy him a winter coat.”

     Michael nods. “Okay. Good.”

   Raphael shrieks once again. Dean turns to the two boys sitting by the door to tell Lucifer to knock it off.

     “Ouch! Gabriel!” Cas yelps.

   Dean swivels around to see Cas rubbing his cheek. Clearly he had been trying to wrestle Gabe’s shoes on his and had gotten a foot to the face. The two year old scrambles off of Castiel’s lap ad tries making a run for it. He doesn’t make it far before Dean easily leans down and scoops him up. Together Cas and Dean manage to wrangle Gabe into a pair of shoes. They then somehow manage to herd the four boys in the SUV (that Chuck insisted on Dean keeping) they make sure that Raphael and Lucifer are NOT sitting next to each other. Dean does a double (triple) check that they have the diaper bag and the backpack with everything they need before finally getting in the driver’s seat and pulling out of the driveway so that they can finally get to the hardware store and the boys can pick out the colors for their bedrooms.

~~~~~~~~

      Castiel takes Michael and Lucifer to help and watch them pick colors. Dean went with Raphael and Lucifer. He’s standing behind the boys, giving them enough room to not feel crowded but close enough so that no one could run up and steal them. Michael is intensely staring at the blues while Lucifer is picking out a bunch of green and yellow paint chips.

    The angel looks over to Dean, he’s holding one boy in each arm. Raphael is looking over at all of the colors not picking one just yet. Gabriel is entranced by the pinks and Dean is nodding along to whatever the little boy is saying. The sight makes Cas feel warmth throughout his being. He’s always known that Dean is a good man, a great man, but he would be okay with a boy liking color that is so widely considered to be feminine – if only because of who raised him and how he was raised. The green eyed man looks over and their eyes meet, Dean gives a quick easy smile before going back to listening to 2 year old chatter.

   “I like these two.” Lucifer says, tugging on Castiel’s pant leg.

      Lucifer is holding two paint chips. One is a medium green and the other is a sunny yellow.

   “Okay.” Cas says, many ideas of what he room could look like with those colors.

       “I can get both?” The six year old asks sounding disbelieving.

     “Sure, why not?”

       Lucifer smiles in response and goes to Michael to show him his color choices.

 

     Cas thought that Dean took a long time to pick out colors. He didn’t know what a long time was before he had to wait for Michael and Raphael to pick out colors. With Michael it was like going through the whole purple fiasco with Dean only now with blue. Though with Raphael it took almost forty minutes just to get him narrowed down to three colors. It’s a good thing that Dean actually cares about colors because if it was left to just Cas to help the two boys pick the colors they wanted their rooms to be, then he would be very bad at it because he really truly doesn’t care about colors. The good thing that happened with all the time that Cas, Lucifer and Gabriel had to waste was that they decided that Lucifer’s room would be jungle themed and Gabriel’s will be carnival themed.

    “Are we ever going to leaveeeee?” Lucifer whines from the inside of the shopping cart.

    “I hope so.” Cas responds pushing the cart forward and then back again.

         Just when Cas thinks they will never leave the hardware store and they will have to live here for the rest of their lives, Dean walks up to the counter with Michael and Raphael.

    “Finally!” Lucifer shouts from the cart.

      Gabriel had been sucking on his fingers so this isn’t exciting to him like it is for Lucifer and Castiel.

   “It didn’t take that long, Lucifer.” Dean says waiting for the employee to mix the new paint they just asked for.

     “It did.” Cas and Lucifer say in unison.

    In return Dean gives them both an unimpressed look, Cas doesn’t have to try and retaliate because he’s pretty positive that that’s how he has looked for most of the time now.

     Michael had picked two different blues, one light and one dark. Raphael picked magenta and brown, which is in Castiel’s opinion an odd choice for a child but Raphael is a little odd. This time Dean is around when Cas helps the two boys decide what theme they wat their room to be. Michael wants space and Raphael wants a library to which Lucifer yelled ‘he can’t even read!’ As Dean and he are getting everyone and everything in the car Dean asks in Cas’ ear.

    “Are we going to hire someone to paint their rooms since they want themes?”

   “No. I will do it.”

      Dean gives him a look as if to say ‘how are you going to do that?’ but he doesn’t actually say anything.

~~~~~~~~

        It take Cas a week to paint the boys rooms. At first they had the boys sleeping in the living room but after the first night of Dean not sleeping _at all,_ he told Cas that they were going to sleep in their room. He knows that he should probably have asked if Cas was okay with that but Cas immediately agreed. His exact words being ‘Yes, because if they don’t then you won’t sleep at all.’ Just the thought of all of them being that close to the front door and Dean being two floors away from them, it made him feel like someone was slowly pulling off his skin. Which he knows that they would have been fine, he always locks the house up (multiple times). He just couldn’t relax knowing they were that close to the front door, a bay window right in front of him.

    Today though they are moving back into their rooms, in the past week they picked out their furniture and everything else, except clothes and toy shopping haven’t happened yet. Castiel finished the rooms though and they start at Michael’s. Cas opens the door and everyone is impressed. All the boys are in awe and Michael hugs Castiel telling him he loves it but Dean definitely thinks he’s the most impressed, because what the fuck? Castiel can paint?

     The room is amazing. The ceiling is light blue with asteroids and rocket ships on it. The walls are dark blue with stars, planets and constellations. All Dean can think is that Cas has actually probably seen all of these outstanding things.

    Lucifer’s is a jungle. The walls alternating between yellow and green. There’s trees and animals. Some trees have fruit on them. Lucifer’s reaction is to run around the room screaming. Which Dean completely understands because it’s all so realistic.

  Raphael’s is calming. It has a lot of shelves with tons of books and even books painted on the walls. The ones on the walls aren’t written in English though and Dean remembers that Cas knows so many things, he’s so smart and talented and did this. He did _this_. Just to make four little boys happy.

  Gabriel’s is light pink, light yellow and baby blue. There’s a Ferris wheel on one wall and a cotton candy machine on another. Gabe runs around petting the walls and staring at everything. Dean turns to Cas who is watching Gabe with a smile.

    “This is amazing.” It’s not exactly what he wanted to say but Dean isn’t good at words.

  Cas turns his smile to Dean. “Thank you.”

   Dean’s hands start to tingle and he quickly says he’s going to check on Lucifer and Michael. He has to compose himself, get his feelings under control. Since when did he have feelings for Castiel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I would like to thank for everyone's support! The comments, kudos and bookmarks are loved and appreciated <3 I would like to clear some things up though. This will NOT be a story of the Angels and Chuck. It's going to be Dean and Cas raising them basically as their own. If you came here searching for a story where Chuck is parenting the Angels then sorry to tell you but you have come to the wrong place. Secondly, I hope that the shoe tying part made sense because it was a challenge to write, this whole chapter wasn't exactly easy. I hope you all enjoyed it though!!  
>  Love again,   
> Mess


	6. No One Cares?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you are all well!! I have officially graduated high school which I'm so happy about. I'm also happy to be updating, I love being able to have more time to write so I really hope I'll be able to update more, I'm also thinking about starting a new story but I haven't decided on anything yet. So we get some developments in this chapter, it focuses a lot on Raphael - i know someone was looking forward to that so this is the chapter for you baby. There's going to be a lot going on in the next chapter as well so the chapters may be getting longer, I hope that's a good thing. As always comments, kudos and bookmarks are so loved <3 Thank you everyone who reads!!  
> Love,  
> Mess

       Gabriel is the only child that has a baby monitor in his room, something that Castiel thinks is entirely unneeded because Gabe is incredibly loud and the only thing the monitor does is amplify his screeches. It took the toddler a total of one day to figure out the fastest way to get Dean or/ and Cas’ attention. If he is in his crib then he will lift himself up with the bars and shake them while screaming, any other time he just screams and so far once threw himself down on the ground for emphasis, if Castiel had the capability to have a stroke he is almost positive that watching the small boy throw himself down on the hard wood floor while screaming would have given him one. Dean has made the comment that Gabriel “has quite the pair of lungs” but that doesn’t sense to Cas because every human body, even if it’s just being used as vessel, has pair of lungs.

       It’s been three days since the boys have gotten their newly painted and decorated rooms. So the boys have been with Cas and Dean for exactly two weeks. In those two weeks everyone has learned a little more about each other. Some things that Cas and Dean have learned about the boys are the following:

   Michael- hates watermelon, tries to not disappoint anyone and loves apples

   Lucifer- absolutely hates shoes and will put up the biggest fight to not wear them (this involves hiding in a closet for 25 minutes) but he loves oranges to the point where they can be used as a bribe

   Raphael- hates peas and most vegetables except carrots and cauliflower (which Dean did point out is pretty strange because ‘who likes cauliflower to begin with and name one kid ,Castiel, that enjoys it’), he also really enjoys wearing Dean’s t-shirts but Dean has yet to see him doing it and doesn’t believe Cas

  Gabriel- loathes being sticky which would be fairly easy to deal with if he didn’t love so many sticky things

   Castiel pauses his thinking and looks at the clock that’s on the wall next to the television in the living room. It’s three in the morning. Angels don’t need sleep, though they can go into a ‘resting mode’ which is when their vessel appears to be sleeping as the Angel concentrates on ‘angel radio’ some angels do this often, Cas does not. When Dean and the boys sleep Cas stays up and usually reads. He had been reading until the thoughts of the boys and everything that has happened came into his mind. He closes his book ‘Children for Dummies’ and heads to the kitchen, until he sees a figure on at the top of staircase, he stops dead in his tracks. His thoughts race until the sight makes sense to his eyes. It’s Raphael slowly making his way down the stairs, step by step. He’s carrying something close to him. When the little boy finally makes it to the bottom of the stairs he jumps off of the last step, his little feet hardly making a sound of the floor. Raphael pads over Cas and stops directly in front of him, he turns his big brown eyes up to Cas. Castiel can now see that what the boy is carrying is one of Dean’s t-shirts, his AC/DC one that has many holes in it to be specific. Where does Raphael even find them? It’s not like he is out of Dean or Cas’ sight often or long enough to go through Dean’s drawers or hamper.

    “Are you okay?” Castiel asks since Raphael hasn’t said anything.

      “I woke up.” Raphael states bluntly then yawns.

    “I can see that,” Cas responds, “Do you need something?”

   Raphael’s response is to shrug and then start walking towards the kitchen. Castiel follows because he can’t just let a four year old wander around and he was going that way also. As they walk to the kitchen Cas muses at how little Raphael speaks, he might actually speak less than Gabriel and Gabe knows far fewer words than Raphael.

    When they get to the kitchen Cas lifts the second youngest up onto the island counter and starts making tea (for himself) and warm milk, the way Dean showed him (for Raphael). The milk is done before the water has even boiled. Raphael slowly sips the milk from his batman sippy cup, Cas watches him.

   “Why don’t you talk as much as your brothers, Raphael?”

  The little brown eyed boy continues to take slow sips, Castiel figures he isn’t going to answer but then Raphael pulls the cup away from his lips which causing a small popping sound.

    “No one cares about what I say.” 

   He immediately puts the spout back in his mouth. He didn’t even sound upset when he said it. Cas doesn’t know what bothers him more, the fact that a four year old just said that to him or that the four year old doesn’t seem upset by what he just said.

    “That’s not true.”

      This time Raphael doesn’t bother to say anything back.

   “Dean and I care about you and what you have to say.”

      Again Cas gets nothing in return. The tea pots starts whistling so Cas turns half of his attention into making chamomile tea.

   “Raphael,” Cas takes a deep breath wanting to say the right words, “your brothers, they- they are not any more important than you.” He turns to face the child completely, holding his warm mug with both hands.

      This gets a reaction from the boy, he pulls the spout out of his mouth and places the cup next to himself. 

     “How do you know that? Maybe they are.”

    What? What does that even-? Cas has such a startling and alarming thought that he nearly drops his mug. He quickly places in on the counter beside him and takes a step closer to the island.

     “What do you mean by that?”

    This question causes Raphael to think for a little bit, his eyebrows scrunching together. Then he takes a breath and lets out a sigh that is far too big for a four year old to produce.

   “I just feel that they are… I _feel_ that they are.”

     “Do you have any other feelings Raphael?”

    “Yes, but I don’t know the words.”

 

     Castiel schools his features because he doesn’t want to alarm the boy in front of him. Instead he lets the boy finish his milk then he helps him down and go to the bathroom. He gets Raphael back into bed with Dean’s shirt and doesn’t even have to finish a story before the boy is out. He has a passing thought of the now cold tea on the counter as he rushes to his and Dean’s room. He flicks the lights on which elicits a groan of protest from the man under the covers. Castiel goes to right side of the bed, Dean’s side, and pushes the freckled man. This provokes another groan that is followed by a grunted ‘whaaa’.

   “Get up Dean.” Cas says pushing the man again.

   “Go ‘way Cas. ‘m tryin’ ta sleep.” Dean rolls over turning his back to Cas.

     “Get up right now Dean Winchester.” Cas pulls all the blankets away from Dean’s body.

     Cas isn’t sure if it’s the urgency in his voice or the cold air that causes Dean to shoot up looking alert and ready.

     “What? What’s wrong?” Dean asks, his arms are braced on the bed and he’s ready to spring up.

    Cas takes a seat next to Dean’s hip, so that the man knows there is no immediate danger.

       “I think Chuck messed up at erasing Raphael’s memory.”

    Dean quickly goes from looking ready to fight for his life to looking utterly confused.

       “What? What makes you think that?”  

    “I was reading in the living room, but then I started thinking. So the clock said that it was three and I decided that I wanted some tea so I got up to go to the kitchen-“

        “What does this have to do with Raphael?” Dean interrupts.

     “Let me finish. So I got up to go to the kitchen to make chamomile tea, but then I saw something on the stairs at first I assumed it was something bad but then I realized it was Raphael, he was carrying on your t-shirts. So we went to the kitchen and he had warm milk and I made the tea and I had been thinking about the fact that he hardly talks. So I asked him why he doesn’t talk as much and he said no one cares about what he has to say. Which is very upsetting don’t you think? I told him that both of us care about what he says and that his brothers aren’t any more important than him. He said that he feels like they are. That is why I think Chuck messed up.”

     Dean’s eyebrows are pulled together and his cheek is resting on his fist.

    “Riiiiight. Okay. That was a lot of extra information. Um, so,” Dean drags his hand down his face, “so what do we do?”

     Cas is slightly taken aback. He was expecting Dean to jump into action and here he is asking Cas what to do.

     “We call Chuck and tell him so that he can fix it. I think that it’s really the only thing that we can do.”

   “Right. Okay. Sounds good. So we can deal with that when it’s not four in the morning right?” The green eyed man asks through a yawn already starting to lay back down.

    “No! We can deal with it now.” Castiel says baffled at the idea of waiting.

   “No. Okay.” Dean sits back up as Cas grabs Deans cell phone off of the night stand.

       Cas goes to the other side of the bed and sits next Dean so that their knees are touching. Cas calls Chuck and puts the phone on speaker. As it rings Cas watches Dean out of the corner of his eye, the man is rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

   “Hello?” Chucks voice breaks the silence in the quite room.

      “Hi, Chuck. It Castiel and Dean Winchester.”

     “What can I do for you?” Chuck asks brightly.

    “I think you messed up on erasing Raphael’s memory.” Cas explains

       “Messed up?”

      “We think he still has memories or well feelings about his past life.” Dean interjects.

        “Well they all might have feelings about things. A kind of deju vu type of thing.” Chuck says thoughtfully.

     “No. No. That’s definitely not the feeling he was having.” Castiel quickly says because he knows it’s not.

    “Perhaps.. I’ll come by Sunday to check things out.”

    “Okay, great.” Dean says and lays down.

       “Thank you, Chuck.” Cas presses the end button.

~~~~~~~~

         Raphael does not want to get up. He’s so tired and the bed is so warm and cozy. He brings the t-shirt that he’s been cuddling with closer to his face and rubs it against his cheek. Castiel had already come into his room and turned on his light saying ‘rise and shine’. It’s too bad that Raphael doesn’t want to rise and shine. He hears footsteps coming towards him and then there’s some body next to him because someone jumped up onto his bed.

     “Wake up, Raphy.” Lucifer whispers as he pets his younger brother’s face.

   “Mmmmpf.” Is the only response that Raphael can muster.

        “Waaaake up, Raaaphyyy.” Lucifer sings now running his finger down Raphael’s nose.

      “Nuh.” Raphael mutters into the t-shirt.

           “Okay. I have no other choice.”

          Lucifer jumps up, which causes the bed to jostle. Then, suddenly, there are hands around Raphael’s ankles and he’s being yanked out from under his blankets. Raphael lets out a squeak and then a yelp and he thumps onto the floor.

     “Why?!” Raphael shouts.

     “Because it’s morning and it’s time to get up!” Lucifer responds louder.

     Stay on the ground or chase Lucifer? It takes only a second for Raphael to decide what to do. He leaps up from the floor and the race is off. The pair run past Gabriel’s room and then Lucifer makes a sharp turn so that the run past Gabriel’s room again, then the run past Dean and Castiel’s room.

     “No running!” Dean shouts out of the open doorway.

    “Inside voices!” Lucifer yells back as he turns around again.

       Raphael is right behind Lucifer and just about to tackle him when he is lifted up into the air. He shouts and tries to twist around.

      “What are you two doing?” Dean asks as he settles Raphael on his hip. 

     Lucifer climbs up Deans leg and then wraps his arms around the man’s neck so that he’s hanging. “I woke Raphy up.”

    Dean starts walking towards the stairs, leaving Lucifer hanging and keeping Raphael on his hip. “I can see that.”

     Dean walks the entire way to the kitchen with Lucifer dangling from around his neck and carrying Raphael. He lays his head on Dean’s shoulder, suddenly worn out. Lucifer jumps down and hops onto his chair at the island. Michael is already in his seat and Gabriel is in his high chair. Cas is trying to get Gabe to eat some oatmeal but the youngest is only interested in the strawberries. Dean tries to put Raphael in his seat but Raphael doesn’t want any part of that, no thanks. So he clings to Dean’s shirt, he tries again to put him down but Raphael just grips harder with his little hands.

     “Okay. Are you hungry?”

       Raphael is hungry but he doesn’t want oatmeal. Gross. He points at the bowl in front of Michael.

     “Gross.” He states his opinion.

        “Yeah! Gross!” Lucifer shouts and stands up on his chair.

     “Sit down Lucifer.” Dean says going to a cabinet.

          “Cake!” Lucifer shouts again not sitting down.

         “No. No cake for breakfast.” Cas states finally getting Gabe to eat some oatmeal.

~~~~~~~~

           After breakfast Dean and Cas had to chase Gabriel and Lucifer around to get them ready so Michael helped Raphael.

    “Are you okay?” Michael asks while tugging Raphael’s blue shirt into place.

        Raphael nods and goes over to his bookcase to pick one out. Michael takes a seat next to him, Raphael is lifted up and placed in his oldest brother’s lap. They pick out a book but when Raphael tries to get up his older brother holds him in his place. Raphael turns his head and pouts confused.

    “What’s wrong Raphael?” Michael asks clearly worried.

   “Nothing.” Raphael responds and tries to get up again but to no avail.

       “You can tell me.” The blue eyed boy says softly.

     Raphael doesn’t feel like talking, it’s just going to make him sleepy again and he just stopped feeling like that. He doesn’t even know how to explain what he’s feeling, it’s not even like Michael would understand, Raphael himself doesn’t even understand. It’s a good thing he knows how to play Michael.

   He gently lays his right hand on his brother’s cheek. “Love you, Micha.”

     Michael’s eyes glisten and his lips twitch in a small smile, just like Raphael knew would happen. To get completely out of this Raphael lays his face one Michael’s chest and rubs his cheek against the semi-soft fabric of the gray shirt. Michael places a kiss to the top of his little brother’s head and Raphael knows he’s gotten his freedom, so he jumps up and looks at Dean’s shirt that’s on his unmade bed and then darts from the room forgetting his book on Michael’s lap.

~~~~~~~~

       Dean knows there’s something wrong with Raphael, what happened early this morning with Cas might be a coincidence but Dean doesn’t believe in those. Clothes shopping went well, a lot better than what he was expecting, no one got lost but Raphael wasn’t acting his usual self he had very little energy. Now they are on their way to the toy store and when Dean looked in the rearview mirror only to see Raphael sleeping and Michael watching him worriedly Dean understands because he himself is worried, it’s only ten thirty so Raphael shouldn’t be in need of a nap.

     He pulls into a parking spot at the toy store, Lucifer and Gabriel are exploding with energy. Gabriel is placed in the front of the cart and Lucifer is placed in the basket of the cart with the diaper bag. Michael obediently holds onto the cart. Dean leans into the car and lays the back of his hand against Raphael’s forehead, it’s not any warmer than it should be. Raphael’s eyes flutter half open but his eyes look glazed over, Dean’s stomach twists and jerks in nervous tension but Raphael’s eyes quickly go to normal so Dean’s stomach settles (slightly). He lifts the little boy out of his car seat and settles him on his hip, Raphael lays his head on Dean’s shoulder.

      “No fair! Why does Raphael get to be carried?!” Lucifer yells, Dean is starting to believe that’s the kid’s only setting- loud.

    “You’re in the cart.” Dean points out as the group makes their way to the front of the store.

    Lucifer thinks this over and decides that it’s fair or equal or whatever so he stays in the cart.

~~~~~~~~

        They’ve gotten bath toys, blocks, cars, trains, dinosaurs, jungle animals, art supplies, Play-Dough, space things, a bunch of books, pirate things, some movies and whatever else was thrown into the cart when Dean’s back was turned. Dean doesn’t even want to think about the cost, sure they have the card that Chuck gave them and Cas has no problem using it but Dean isn’t Cas. Dean also hasn’t told Cas that on Monday he has an interview at a garage, he should probably do that. Cas leads everyone down another isle. This isle is full of stuffed animals, rows and rows of them. Lucifer takes off, dragging Michael with him. Cas lifts Gabe out of the cart and helps him see things that are out of his normal eye level. Dean places Raphael on the ground.

     “C’mon, Raph. You’ve hardly picked anything out today. Don’t you want a buddy?” Dean asks kneeling in front of the kid.

    Raphael shrugs but turns around to examine the shelves contents. He looks extremely disinterested and only walks about six feet away from Dean before he freezes. Dean’s automatic feeling is panic but then he looks closer to see that Raphael looks like he is complete awe, so he follows the little boy’s gaze to see that he’s staring at an elephant.

     The stuffed toy is about eight inches long and is a soft gray color, the inside of its ears are light pink and look to be silk. Dean walks over to Raphael and sits on the floor next to him.

     “Do you want the elephant?” Dean takes the toy off the shelf and holds it out to Raphael.

    Raphael slowly reaches his hand out and pets the toy, he then carefully runs a finger across the inside on its ear.

     “Plat!” Gabe’s happy voice shrieks followed by giggles.

   Dean glances over to Cas and Gabe to see Gabriel holding the weirdest looking stuffed animal he’s ever seen. He then turns his attention back to Raphael who is still petting the toy. Dean chokes back a laugh.

     “Take it.” He moves the toy closer to Raphael who immediately takes it into his arms and hugs it tight.

   Proud, Dean stands up and guides Raphael back to the cart. Gabriel is back in the seat and holding onto a weird colorful…thing.

      “What is that?”

    “It’s a platypus.” Cas responds obviously amused.

       Its body is light blue, it has yellow feet, a green beak and its tail is orange. It is weird looking which makes it perfect for Gabe.

   “That thing is ugly.” Lucifer states.

      Castiel and Dean both look down. Gabriel isn’t bothered since he doesn’t know that is brother was talking about his toy.

    “Don’t be mean to you brothers.” Dean deadpans.

   Lucifer sheepishly looks down.

     “So what did you boys get?” Cas asks curiously.

    Michael holds up his stuffed animal. It’s a fluffy, feathery owl that’s brown with specks of white. Lucifer holds his out, he has a white curly furred lamb.

     “They are both great,” Cas smiles, “do you have names for them yet?”

   “Plat!” Gabe pipes up hugging the platypus close.

      “Fuzz.” Lucifer proudly puffs out his chest.

    “Bean.” Michael decides.

        “Earl.” Raphael quietly says not looking up.

     Everyone looks at Raphael except Gabe, who is busy playing with Plat.

        “Earl?” Lucifer asks sounding appalled.

       Raphael nods into Earl.

             “That’s a great name!” Dean butts in before anything else can come out of Lucifer’s mouth.

         “Yeah, I love it.” Michael adds.

              Dean looks to Cas wondering why he hasn’t said anything yet and the sight he sees cause warmth to pool in his stomach. Cas is holding onto the cart a hand over his mouth and tears hanging on the corners of his eyes his entire body lightly shaking. He’s holding back laughter. Dean can’t do anything expect grin, probably looking like an idiot, but he can’t help it.

~~~~~~~~

        Michael is smacking Lucifer’s hands away from candy, Dean is trying to pry Plat out of Gabriel’s hands just say that the cashier can scan the price tag and Raphael is hanging onto Cas’ pant leg.

      “Whose are these?” Dean asks holding up two baby dolls.

      Cas knew that when Lucifer put those in the cart Dean would have a reaction. He didn’t and doesn’t know what that reaction will be. Considering the fact that he was completely okay with Gabe having a pink he might be completely okay with Lucifer wanting dolls.

      “Lucifer put those in the cart.” Cas says, ready and expecting either side of the reaction spectrum.

     Dean says nothing, he goes back to putting toys on the checkout counter including the baby dolls.

        When they finish paying and getting they kids in the car both Cas and Dean put the bags in the back of the along with the clothing bags.

      “So. You’re okay with the boys playing with dolls?” Cas asks slowly not wanting to accidently offend the man next to him.

      Dean places the bag in his hand in the trunk but doesn’t reach for the last one so Castiel takes it out of the cart and puts it in the car.

       “Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?” Dean asks not looking at Cas but deciding instead to keep his eyes on one of the bags.

           Castiel thinks. He thinks of the best way to phrase what he wants to say but he doesn’t think there is a best way or a good way at all, he thinks that no matter what Dean will get annoyed or upset or offended. Cas doesn’t want to make Dean feel any of those things.

        “Not to boast about myself or anything, Castiel, but I would like to consider myself a non-sexist person.” Dean testily says.

      “No chick-flick moments.” Cas responds and he doesn’t know why because he knows that Dean isn’t sexist that he views men and women as equal that nothing is a one way road, that ‘no chick flick moments’ is just an out so that he doesn’t have to deal with his feelings and Cas knows this.

        “Everyone says that the want to better than their parents, right? I’m not saying that my dad didn’t do a good job or anything but he definitely would have thrown a fit if Sammy or I every even looked at a doll for too long,” he takes a breath, “I, personally don’t think that shit matters. As long as a kid is happy.”

     Dean reaches up to close the trunk and Castiel takes a step back, he feels the need to apologize but thinks that Dean will just brush him off. He feels the need to explain to sit down and talk to understand each other better, that’s what he wants he wants to understand Dean, _really_ understand him, not just make assumptions on him but they don’t have time for that. Dean looks at Cas and Cas looks back. Castiel looks at the man in front of him the man with green eyes and freckles, the man he wants to know better, the man he’s raising four kids with. Dean takes a step forward and for some reason Cas’ pulse quickens, then the man steps to side and goes around Cas. For some reason disappointment washes over Castiel.

~~~~~~~~

      Raphael is so tired. He was tired when he took a nap after lunch, he was tired when he woke up from the nap, he was tired at dinner and he’s tired now. Dean lifts him out of the bath and starts drying him off with a ducky towel. Then he feels a hand on his forehand followed by a pair of lips. He drags up energy from somewhere and opens his eyes to look at Dean.

      “How are you feeling, Thunder?”

    Raphael wants to smile at the nickname, he really does because he likes it and it makes him feel happy but he hardly has the energy to stand let alone shift his facial features into a smile.

     “Tired.” Raphael manages to mumble out and then somehow climbs into Dean’s lap.

   Dean puffs out a sigh but stands up and carries Raphael to his room, or Raphael assumes it’s his room. Except this distance is a lot longer than it takes to get to his room, he peaks open his eyes to see that they are in the living room.

     “Michael behave and don’t let Lucifer cause any trouble, I need to talk to Castiel.”

    Then they are moving again, Dean’s hand is rubbing circles on Raphael’s back and it’s incredibly soothing and lulling him into sleep faster.

       “Is everything alright?” Castiel’s deep rumbly voice flows over Raphael.

    “No. No everything isn’t alright. I’m trying to not freak out actually.”

     “It sounds to me like you are freaking out.”

    There’s a sound like someone got smacked.

       “Raphael has been tired all day and his eyes have glazed over a couple of times plus he’s zoned out at least three times. He doesn’t have a fever but something is definitely… not okay.” Dean says his voice strained.

     Raphael feels another hand on his forehead.

    “I told you that he doesn’t have a fever.”

        “I was just making sure. Do you have any suggestions as to what we should do?”

      “Call Chuck and tell him to get here right now.”

    Dean starts walking again.

        “Hey Dean,” Cas calls out, “I’m sorry.”

Dean stops but doesn’t say anything before moving forward again and Raphael barely registers that they are going back up the stairs and the kiss that is placed on the side of his head before he’s out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love love love to hear what you guys think. How do you feel about Chuck? Do you have a favorite boy? Is there anything that you are waiting to happen of want to happen? Did you have a comfort item when you were a kid, if you did what was it? I had a Clifford the big red dog stuffie that I absolutely loved and a silky pink blanket. Anyway tell me your thoughts I looooove to hear them :)   
> p.s (I wish I could use emojis here)   
> Love again,  
> Mess<3


	7. Fixing One Problem and Creating Another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh thank you everyone for sharing what your comfort things were I loooooooved reading about everyone's different things!! As always I hope everyone is healthy and well, I love and appreciate you all so much. Everyone who reads, kudos, comments and bookmarks makes me so happy and writing so much more fun!<3 We have some Cas/Dean action going on in this chapter so if you were looking forward to that than here it is bby! Do you want to know what will be happening in the next chapter? Should I tell you??   
> Love,  
> Mess  
> (check out the notes at the end to know what will be happening in the next update;))

Dean can feel that Raphael has fallen asleep, he carries the little boy to his own bedroom and places him on the bed. He gets out underwear and the new shark pajamas that Dean had actually picked out and showed to Raphael the day they went shopping and the four year old had fallen in love with them, not that he’s bragging or anything. Once Dean finishes gently getting Raphael dressed he takes Earl and carries both to his and Castiel’s room. He lays the boy down on the big bed and then sets up pillows around him so that he won’t roll off, that’s the last thing Dean needs to happen right now.

        As soon as Dean is back on the ground level Cas steps out of the living room and into the entranceway, enough so that he can talk to Dean in a normal voice but also be able to see into the living room and keep an eye on Michael and Lucifer.

      “Chuck said that he can’t come right now.”

          “Excuse me?” Dean asks hoping that he heard wrong but not thinking he actually did.

     “He said that he’s coming Sunday and that Raphael will be fine until then. He said that he can’t step away right now he’s too busy.” Cas explains sounding exhausted.

         Dean swears that he can see red. He’s shocked that he can even breathe through the rage and see straight. He takes Cas’ cellphone from his hand and walks out front redialing Chuck’s number.

       “Cas, I just told you-“

     “Try again.”

          “Dean…” Chuck says his attitude completely changing.

      “Get your ass here right now. Something is wrong with-“

             “I already-“

       “SOMETHING,” Dean doesn’t plan on letting this conversation end until Chuck says he’ll be here in three seconds, “is wrong with Raphael. I’m not any part angel so I don’t fucking know what’s going on with him and he’s not even a full angel at the moment so Cas can’t figure out what it is. So get your fucking ass here right fucking now so that we can figure out what is going on and I can take care of this poor child.”

        “Dean, I really wish you would understand that I cannot step away from what I’m doing right now.”

     Dean takes a deep breath and counts to ten… then he counts to twenty when he doesn’t calm down any… then to thirty… then he gives up.

      “And I really wish that you had the ability to understand that I can’t take him to some fucking doctor. You are literally the only person that I can ask, which I’ve come to understand is like relying on duct tape to keep a car together. Do you not get that you asked me to take care of these kids, to raise them? So here I am being their parent and right now I have a fucking sick kid and the only person that can tell me what to do is to damn busy to actually do one thing to help his own creation.” Dean’s voice raises but he tries to keep from yelling.

     There’s silence for a total of a minute and Dean has to check a couple of times to make sure that Chuck didn’t hang up on him.

         “I’ll be there in two minutes.” Chuck’s voice finally cuts across the silent line.

       Before Dean can respond Chuck does hang up.

~~~~~~~~

     Cas hears the front door open and so do the boys. Michael and Lucifer are only distracted for a second before they go back to racing their cars. Dean walks into the living room, it’s clear that he’s upset and angry.

       “He’s coming.” Dean huffs out as he plops done directly next Castiel.

    “Good.” The angel nods completely relived.

          “Who?” Lucifer asks looking up from his car.

     Dean doesn’t say anything which makes Cas think that maybe he shouldn’t tell Lucifer the truth but he doesn’t want to lie. “Chuck.”

       Lucifer scrunches his lips together and then looks back down at the cars. He doesn’t know the golden haired boys thoughts on Chuck but if that reaction is anything to go by then he’s guessing that Lucifer isn’t God’s biggest fan. Really, he doesn’t know any of the boys’ thoughts on their true father, they don’t talk about him and they don’t ask about him.

    The man nest to him lays his head back against the couch and breaths out through his nose.

  “I’m going to get them in bed.” Cas says glancing at Dean before moving forward on the couch.

       “Good idea. Do you want me to help?” Dean doesn’t make an indication that he wants to move.

    “It’s okay, I’ve got it,” Cas says his lips curving into a half smile as he stands, “Alright boys time to sleep.”

              “Noooooo.” Lucifer whines and then falls backwards.

        “Five more minutes, please.” Michael tries to bargain.

              “I gave you five more minutes fifteen minutes ago. So come on.”

        Cas walks over to the boys and picks up Lucifer who has gone limp in protest but reaches out for Fuzz. Michael gets up on his own but drags his feet the entire way to the upstairs bathroom. He knows that sometime during the time that Lucifer and Michael are getting a bath Chuck shows up but he doesn’t rush the boys even though he doesn’t think it’s the best idea to leave Dean alone with someone that he’s so angry with.

    He helps both boys dry off and get dressed then puts them into bed saying goodnight. Castiel tries to prepare himself for whatever is happening downstairs, it’s too bad that the staircase from the second floor to the ground floor is so short.

        “All I’m saying is that the likelihood of me messing up on Raphael’s memories are basically zero to none.” Chuck says in such a way that it’s clear he has already said the same sentence multiple times.

     “How about instead of making fucking excuses you just come and check out Raphael.” Dean growls out through gritted teeth.

      “He’s up here.” Castiel cuts in trying to defuse the heated situation.

   The three men start their way up the stairs to Raphael. They get to the stairs that lead up to the third floor and are just about to go up them, Castiel hopes that maybe this visit won’t be so bad after all.

       “You’ll see that this was just a waste of my time when I tell you nothing is wrong with him.” Chuck states before stepping onto the next flight of stairs.

         Castiel can feel the moment Dean snaps. The hall is so quickly filled with tension and Deans rage that Cas can feel in pressing into him. He tries to think of what to do, what say, a way to stop Dean from exploding. No being can think that fast.

      “How!? How is caring about and doing one thing to take care of your OWN _FUCKING_ children a waste of time?!” Dean roars, “Something is wrong with Raphael and you keep acting like that’s so fucking goddamn impossible yet you’ve literally let the last millennia become such a clusterfuck that you had to restart some of your own kids! So how about you get down from you high fucking horse and just look at Raphael so that he can get better?!” Dean’s hands are clenched into fists and he clearly wants to knock Chuck around but is holding back.

     The silence that follows Dean’s outburst rings. Only someone that has been dead for a century wouldn’t be able to tell that Dean is mad, angry, full of rage; but Castiel can hear the hurt behind it all. He knows that Dean is blaming himself, that the man with his fists clenched standing beside him thinks he should have done something earlier, that he hates asking for help and thinks he should be able to take care of Raphael by himself. So as much as Dean is angry and as much as he wants to throw Chuck through a wall, he’s just as upset at himself and worried about the sick little boy in their room.

       “RAPHAEL IS DYYYYYYYING!” Lucifer sobs effectively breaking the silence.

     Everyone’s head snaps to Lucifer’s room to see him standing in his doorway clutching onto Fuzz bawling into the stuffed animal’s fur. Castiel looks to Michael’s room to see the eight year old standing in his doorway looking confused and scared.

    “Is that true?” Michael asks sounding small.

       “No. No that is not true. Raphael is _not_ dying.” Dean states calmly while walking to Lucifer.

    “H-HE’S HE’S DY-DYINGGGGG” Lucifer hiccups out.

        “No, he’s fine.” Dean picks the crying boy up.

      Lucifer shoves his head into Dean’s shoulder and screams while simultaneously continuing to cry. Dean looks back to send a glare to Chuck before carrying Lucifer to Michael’s room and closing the door.

~~~~~~~~

       Michael is so confused. There are so many emotions that he is feeling right now that he doesn’t even know what to do. He doesn’t know how to work through them or how he is supposed to handle himself at this very moment, he can’t think of any other time that this many feelings were running around inside of him. He’s scared and worried. He’s confused and sad. He’s too many things at one time.

    Dean sits down on the bed with Lucifer on his lap. Michael gets on the bed and crawls over next to Dean then lays his head on his arm. Lucifer hasn’t stopped crying but Dean is rubbing his back trying to comfort him. Maybe Dean will know how to get rid of all of these emotions for Dean because it’s just too much for him.

     “What’s wrong with Raphael?” Michael manages to ask.

    “He’s just not feeling good right now. He’ll be fine. He isn’t going to die.” Dean explains in his calm matter of fact voice, it’s similar to voice he uses when he wants someone to listen to him.

        Lucifer whines and Dean shifts him around so that his face isn’t hiding anymore.

    “H-how do you k-k-know?” Lucifer asks around his crying and sniffling.

        “Because it’s not that bad.”

          Michael bites his lower lip. Something’s wrong with Raphael but they don’t know what and Dean is worried but says it’s not that bad. His eye’s sting and he can feel the tears at the corner of his eyes. Except he doesn’t want to cry because that will just make Lucifer even more upset. He doesn’t know what else to do so he turns his face into Dean’s arm as tears leak out of his eyes unwillingly, and he confusion grows.

        “Why did you yell?” Michael chokes out.

       Dean shifts around, Michael peeks one eye out to see what is happening, the green eyed man is moving Lucifer onto one leg and then picks Michael up putting him on the other. Michael immediately places his head on Dean’s chest, him and Lucifer looking at each other. Lucifer has tears streaming down his face and is sniffling, Fuzz is clutched to his chest. Michael is trying his best to get a hold on his own tears that are slowly making their way down his face, he needs to be strong for his little brothers, he fists the bottom of Dean’s shirt in his hand. He can hear Dean’s heart beating it’s strong and the rhythm is calming.

    “I yelled because I was upset and mad.”

      “At Chuck?” Lucifer asks as he wipes his face on Dean’s shirt.

    “Yes.”

        Lucifer nods like he understands, and maybe he does. Michael knows that Chuck isn’t his favorite person, and though he doesn’t know who Lucifer’s favorite person is he does know that Chuck is far from it.

     “Hey Jude,” Dean sings, it’s low and rumbly, “don’t make it bad. Take a sad sing and make it better.”

   Michael closes his eyes after Lucifer does. He listens to Dean’s heart which is accompanying his voice. Michael can’t help the few tears that slip down his face or the one’s that follow after Dean wipes them away with his thumb.

~~~~~~~~

       Chuck took one look at Raphael and his entire posture changed. He mumbled some things to himself under his breath, Cas didn’t catch any of them. They probably didn’t matter anyway, at least that’s what he’s going to tell himself. Now he’s sitting on Raphael’s left side as Chuck is on his right holding a hand to the little boys head.

   Finally the bearded man takes his hand away from Raphael and looks at Cas to meet his eyes.

     “It seems that his memory washing didn’t finish… and because of that he’s withdrawn himself from others. Which as you know young angels depend on love, comfort, and physical contact. So he’s basically ill and the memory pieces that aren’t supposed to be there are weighing his energy down. I’m actually surprised that he’s lasted this long.” Chuck explains.

        “So fix it. Take the memories away and then we can work on giving him the attention he needs and deserves.” Cas says slightly annoyed that he even has to say anything.

     “You’ll need to leave the room.”

         “What? Why?” The blue eyed angel doesn’t like the idea of having to leave Raphael alone.

      “I have to root around in his mind, his memories. His true form is going to come out and it’s weakened since he doesn’t have all of his grace. If you’re around his true form it will try to latch onto you to feed off of your grace to become stronger. It will just be easier if you aren’t in here.” Chuck says in a reasoning voice.

    Castiel understands and it makes sense. That doesn’t mean he likes it, he doesn’t want to leave the little boy alone… his little boy. He wonders if Dean has started to think of them like that, like a family.

     Even though he doesn’t like it and doesn’t want to he gets up from the bed and leaves the room. He closes the door behind him, one part of him wants to go down to Michael’s room and check on the other boys and Dean but a larger part of him doesn’t want to be that far from Raphael. So he settles for pacing. Which does absolutely nothing to calm his nerves or make him feel better but he doesn’t stop either.

~~~~~~~~

      Dean looks down at the two boys on his lap. The two boys that he just sang to sleep and are now sleeping on him with their heads on his chest. He feels a warm security, one that only comes along with family. Looking down at the boys again he places a kiss on both their heads before gently maneuvering them onto Michael’s bed next to each other. The man turns the light off and slowly closes the door so that he doesn’t wake up the kids that he just got to sleep.    

    What he sees when he gets to the third floor hall is certainly not what he was expecting. His angel is pacing with one hand one his cheek and the other hand close to his lips as he runs a finger over them.

  “You okay there Cas?” Dean asks taking a couple steps closer to the pacing man.

      Blue eyes snap over to meet his as the owner of them stops mid-step and lifts his head up, worry etched onto his face. Dean’s concern sky rockets as he walks closer to Cas leaving two steps between them.

       “I’m not okay. Chuck is in there trying to fix Raphael’s memory issue and,” Cas takes a breath, “it’s very nerve wracking.”

    Castiel turns his back towards the door so that he is completely facing Dean, leaving only one step between them now.

     “So his memories were messed up?” Dean questions wanting to make sure that he understands correctly.

    “Yes and Chuck said that since he had difficult memories to deal with he withdrew himself from everyone else and young angels strive from love and comfort so he wasn’t getting enough of that and the memories weighed on his energy.” Cas explains clearly upset.

         “But that’s good, right? Because it’s things that can be fixed. He can get better and will get better.”

    The angel lets out a breath, Dean can feel the warmth on his face, and nods. “Yes, yes. You’re right.”

         Dean looks at Castiel and he notices. He notices his blue eyes, and that they look different in this light then when he’s in the sun they look lighter than they do now. He notices the lines between his eyebrows that show his worry. He notices that the angel’s lips look chapped and do they always look like that? How would they feel against his? Dean sucks in a breath, his brain screams at him to take a step back to put some distance between himself and his angel- wait, no- the angel. His legs don’t listen, they’re useless, useless awful legs. He thinks about them moving and they betray him! They move the wrong way! They move forward, they must be broken, he’ll have to cut them off. Cas doesn’t move back, he doesn’t do anything as Dean leans toward him. Their lips brush together, it’s a soft pressure, a barely there feeling.

     The sound of a door opening makes Dean jolt back and open his eyes, he doesn’t even know when they closed. He looks at Chuck and the almost moment is gone, the silent maybe slipped away and the whispered questions drift down the staircase and under the front door. Cas turns to face Chuck.

            “Raphael should be fine now, he’s still sleeping and he will need to rest but everything should be fine. Just give him love and attention.” Chuck says his hands in his pockets.

       “Thanks.” Cas mutters out as he quickly maneuvers around Chuck and into the bedroom.

     “Thank you.” Dean says even though he wants to say a lot more, he doesn’t want to yell again.

         “Dean, I really am sorry that I didn’t think anything was wrong.”

       “That you didn’t believe us.”

           Chuck sighs but nods. “I guess that I have already messed up so much that I didn’t want to think that I let something slip though my fingers again. I am sorry.”

          Dean thinks it over and it sounds an awful lot like an excuse to him, but sometimes excuses are needed. “I accept your apology, next time I would appreciate that you take us seriously when we say one of our boys is sick. We care about them, a lot, Chuck.”

       “I know you do. That you both do, I can see it, I can feel it.” Chuck gives Dean a look, one that says he knows something, one that makes him want to punch the scruffy man right in the cakehole.

         “Right, well I better go see Raphael.” Dean takes a step to the side to go around the man in front of him.

          “Do you still want me to come on Sunday?”

      “I don’t want you to waste your time.”

           “Dean.”

      “I’m sure that you can find the front door.” Dean responds and closes the bedroom door, cutting off anymore conversation that could follow.

~~~~~~~~

       Cas is sitting on his side of the bed next to Raphael running a hand over his head. He hears the door close and Dean walks over to the bed, it dips down as the green eyed man takes a seat on his own side.

    “He’ll be fine.” Dean says quietly smoothing a finger down the boy’s cheek.

   “Yes. I know, but even knowing that I can’t stop worrying. It’s illogical.”

      Castiel lays down and places a hand on top of Raphael’s little one.

   “Welcome to parenthood.” Dean says trying to be sarcastic but he can hear the truth.

       Dean gets up and goes into the master bathroom, Cas closes his eyes and listens to Dean do his nightly routine.

       “Alright keep your eyes closed, I’m stripping down and getting into pajamas.” Dean states as he walks back into the bedroom.

     Cas softy chuckles but keeps his eyes closed, he can feel himself relaxing and drifting into what sleep is for angels. He hears Dean leave the room to go lock the house up. Keeping his hand on top of Raphael’s and feeling his pulse he is gone.

~~~~~~~~

       Michael wakes up to Lucifer’s foot in his face.

     “Ugh, Luci.” Michael groans as he shoves his brother’s leg away.

         Lucifer rolls away and jumps out of bed. The golden haired boy loves morning and never has any problem waking up.

         “Get up, Mikey.” Lucifer shakes him.

     Michael does not really like the nickname Mikey but he lets his brothers, _and only his brothers_ , call him it because well it’s his brothers. He stretches and gets up. Lucifer has Fuzz and Michael grabs a blanket from his bed. He follows his brother upstairs. They go to Gabriel’s room and Michael lowers the bars to the crib, he lifts his baby brother, who is clinging to Plat, and carries him out of his room. The trio makes their way to Raphael’s room.

           “Where is he?” Lucifer asks pouting.

       Gabriel has fallen back asleep in Michael’s arm, his thumb now in his mouth.

           “Let’s go see if Dean knows.” Michael says not wanting to jump to conclusions.

       They go to the closed door that is Dean and Castiel’s room. Lucifer doesn’t hesitate he turns the doorknob and pushes the door open. Raphael is asleep in the middle of the bed between Castiel and Dean, who are also asleep.

         “Hey! No fair!” Lucifer yells.

    Dean grumbles out a “whaa” as Cas sits up looking completely awake, Raphael rolls closer to Dean.

          “What’s not fair?” Castiel asks, readjusting the pillow behind him.

        “Raphael got to sleep in here. Why?” Lucifer places his hands on his hips.

            “Because he wasn’t feeling good.” Cas explains.

        Lucifer purses his lips together in thought his hands still on his hips. “So we get left out?”

          Michael looks at Lucifer, his brother is hurt and upset but he doesn’t really understand why. So what if Raphael slept in Dean and Cas’ room? Raph wasn’t feeling good so they wanted to keep an eye on him, makes sense to Michael.

     “We weren’t leaving you out.” Cas says looking as confused as Michael feels.

          “We weren’t in here.” Lucifer motions to himself and Michael and Gabriel.

    “Lucifer, I promise that we were not trying to hurt you or leave you out. You three were asleep and we wanted to keep an eye on Raphael. You three are always welcome to sleep in here.”

      “Just get in the bed and shush.” Dean says, his words come out mumbled because his face is shoved into his pillow.

   Cas lets out a quite laugh as Lucifer scrambles on the bed, he goes between Raphael and Cas. Michael hands Gabe to Cas and crawls onto the bed between Raphael and Dean.

         “What time is it?” Dean grumbles out, he voice is even deeper and rougher than usual.

    Michael leans over Dean to look at the clock on the nightstand. The red numbers say five four five.

          “Five forty-five.” Michael relays the information to Dean.

     Dean groans in response and stuffs his face into the pillow even more. Michael laughs and crawls under the blankets, instantly warm, he snuggles closer to Raphael and quickly drifts off again.

~~~~~~~~

          Dean stretches out, some things pop and crack. He looks at the clock- 7:25 – a more reasonable time than earlier when Lucifer decided to wake up the house. The man looks over to the other side of the bed, Gabriel is sleeping on top of Lucifer, Raphael’s feet are on the pillows and his head is facing the end of the bed, Michael is diagonal his body closer to the end of the bed. Cas is missing. He throws his feet over the side of the mattress, as he slides his slippers on he puts on his robe as well.

    The freckled man wanders around the house for about ten minutes before finding the blue eyed angel in the kitchen. He doesn’t say anything at first as he watches Cas fail at trying to make, he’s guessing, French toast. There’s ingredients everywhere, including on Castiel himself. Something in a pan on the stove is smoking and something on a plate on the island is burnt beyond recognition.

      “How long have you been at this?” Dean lets his presence be known.

    “How long were you going to stand there?”

        Dean doesn’t have a good response so he just starts cleaning up some of the mess around the entire kitchen.

         “I have an interview Monday, for a job at a garage.” He says while wiping down a cabinet.

      Castiel freezes for half of a second before continuing whatever he is doing at the stove. “Oh.”

           “Are you okay with that?”

        “Why wouldn’t I be?”

            “I don’t know that’s why I asked.”

         “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

              “Because I’m an ass.”

          Cas turns around, his back to the stove, he’s clearly annoyed. Pissed is probably a more appropriate word.

             “That’s not a reason or excuse. Why would you even say that?” Cas’ tone is clipped.

         The thing is Dean doesn’t know. He doesn’t know why he said that. He doesn’t know why he waited so until a day before the interview to tell him. He doesn’t know why he has these different thoughts about the man in front of him, these different feelings. He doesn’t know why he can’t understand them.

       “I don’t know.”

    “I’m trying to have a conversation with you-“

       “I know.”

     “Then why can’t you have a conversation with me?”

          Dean takes a deep breathe because he’s about to change his whole life again. It doesn’t feel anything like it did when he changed his whole life by taking the children that was a crushing truth. This time he’s spinning. He’s floating and falling at the same time. He’s stumbling and catching himself. He’s talking without thinking and hoping it doesn’t end in disaster.

         “I don’t know, okay? I don’t know why I said that and I don’t know why I waited to tell you. I didn’t mean to wait, it just happened, and I’m sorry. I am. If you don’t want me to go then I won’t but we talked about me having a job, I need one. You said you were okay with that. Also I kissed you last night and I don’t know if we were supposed to ignore that but I don’t really want to. It’s hard for me to talk though. Feelings are hard for me.”

     Word vomit. Word vomit. Word vomit. Word vomit. Wordvomitwordvomitwordvomit _wordvomit._ The two words bounce around Dean’s head and ricochet off his skull and against the backs of his eyes, he can feel them and see them. They are slick and an oozy black-green. They fill the silence that is left because Cas hasn’t, _isn’t_ , talking. Dean has never had to deal with word vomit before. Maybe he should sew his mouth shut.

          “I know and it’s okay.” Cas finally says, but what is he referring to?

       Dean doesn’t get to ask because at that moment Lucifer runs into the kitchen, sliding on the floor and starts asking about the smell and if he’s going to have to get that black thing and why isn’t Dean cooking. The moment is lost again and Dean’s chance is gone along with his nerve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright my loves, so this is some of what is planned, at the moment, for the next chapter.   
> -Gabriel's POV  
> -Meeting some neighbors   
> -Flirting  
> -Park fun  
> -Maybe some Sam updates   
>  That's all I'll say! As always tell your thoughts. I do have a question. What are your thoughts on smut?   
> Love again,  
> Mess<3


	8. Dean's Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I feel likes it's been forever since I updated. This chapter gave me some issues. I just had such awful writers block and actually had to restart a few times. Some unexpected things happened, somethings I didn't intentionally plan but when my characters want something they can be very persuasive. Also I didn't get to everything I said I had wanted to happen. No Gabe's POV for this chapter :( It will happen though! Eventually. There will be notes at the end so check those out if you want!! As always comments, kudos and bookmarks are awesome and appreciated. I love you all so much!!!! <3<3<3  
> Love,  
> Mess

         Dean double checks to make sure that the oven is on warm so that everything he placed in there will be warm when the boys wake up. He then double checks the two diaper bags he packed to make sure that everything Cas will need if he goes out is in either of them. Cas walks into the kitchen as Dean’s back is turned while he fills up his travel mug and the tea kettle whistles.

    “You’re making tea?” Cas asks.

       Dean startles but looks over his shoulder before moving to turn off the stove. “Uh, yeah. For you.”

   “Really? Thank you.” Cas says with a smile and starts making himself tea.

        “No problem,” Dean glances over at Cas, “There’s cinnamon rolls and pancakes in the oven. I packed both the diaper bags, they should have everything in them that you’ll need if you go out today. Are you going out today? Other than the park for lunch?”

     “Breathe Dean,” Cas chuckles, “how are you going to work if you don’t even think we can make it through one morning without you?”

       “I know you can make it without me.” Dean states.

   It’s not that he thinks that they can’t make it without him. He knows that they can, everyone can, and everyone should. He is just nervous, he doesn’t want something to happen if he could have maybe prevented it, helped even when he isn’t around. Sure he is nervous to leave the kids but he isn’t nervous to leave them with Cas, it’s just leaving them in general.

    “Dean?” Cas asks moving closer to the green eyed man.

      “I should get going. Don’t want to be late.”

    Dean doesn’t run away, he rushes away. In a very manly fashion thank you very much. The entire drive to the interview Dean thinks. He thinks about how Chuck never came by yesterday and that neither Dean nor Cas bothered to acknowledge it. Dean didn’t even call Chuck he really didn’t feel like getting into another fight with the man so soon. He thinks about Cas and how they haven’t talked about _them_ yet. Which sure Dean can admit is just as much his fault as Castiel’s. Okay, maybe more. Dean isn’t good with words or feelings. He doesn’t know what to say to Cas, or how to accept that Cas will probably turn him down.

    The ex-hunter pulls into a parking spot. Letting out a huff he gets out of the Impala and makes himself not think about Cas as he walks into the garage ready for the interview.

~~~~~~~~

      Of course Dean and Cas had told the boys that for half of the day Dean wouldn’t be with them today. They aren’t idiots. Except maybe Cas is an idiot because he wasn’t expecting this reaction from Raphael. They had managed to get through breakfast, Cas had just finished clearing the island when Raphael looked around the room then at Cas and asked “Where’s Dean?” Cas told him what they told them last night.

    That was a mistake.

    “Want! Dean!” Raphael screams between his sobbing.

      Both Lucifer and Gabriel are holding their hands over their ears. Cas picked Raph up and put him on the counter, he’s trying to get him to calm down enough so that the boy can actually hear him. Michael keeps running in and out of the kitchen, each time he comes back in he has something with him and gives it to Raphael trying to get him to relax. So far Earl has been chucked across the room, three books have been thrown down onto the ground, two of Dean’s shirts have found their way into the sick of dirty dishes, and a truck is sitting untouched next to the hysterical boy.

     “It’s not that big of a deal, Raphael!” Lucifer screams over the crying.

    Raphael’s response is to kick his legs against cabinets that are under the counter and scream louder. If it wasn’t so upsetting Cas would be impressed that Raphael can actually be louder than Lucifer, considering the child is usually so quite.

     “It’s a big deal to him!” Michael shouts at Lucifer, the oldest tries to give Raphael Earl again but this time the wailing kid doesn’t even notice his brother’s efforts.

    “Well it’s dumb! Dean will be back!”

   Cas is ready to tell Lucifer that someone’s feelings are never dumb.

     “It’s not dumb! It’s his feelings! What if I said your feelings were dumb?” Michael yells, beating Castiel from reprimanding the freckled boy.

       “Whatever! Just get him to stop!” Lucifer shrieks, stomping his feet for emphasis.

     “What do you think Cas and I are trying to do? Why don’t you try?” Michael screams while rubbing Raphael’s right leg.

       “Fine!”

    Lucifer stomps over to where Michael, Raphael and Castiel are. A small part of Cas thinks the six year old is going to try and punch the four year old. Keeping his hands over his ears Lucifer lets out a breath and starts singing in a mellow voice.

         “Hey Jude, don’t make it bad,” for a six year old the singing is very good, “Take a sad song and make it better.”

        Raphael’s sobbing lessens considerably.

     “Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better.”

  Michael is watching with wide eyes. Raph rubs his eyes and sniffles, he takes Earl from Michael and hugs the elephant tightly. With one hand Raph reaches out Lucifer. Taking his hands away from his ears Lucifer has Cas give him his little brother. Lucifer curls up on the kitchen floor with Raphael and continues to softly sing the one verse over and over again, only stopping to place kisses to the brown eyed boys head.

    Satisfied that no one is upset anymore Michael starts picking up the things that Raphael had thrown.

~~~~~~~~

     The rest of the morning goes by without too much fuss. Cas manages to get everyone dressed which does make him proud because getting Gabriel and Lucifer dressed is always a struggle and he got them both dressed by himself. Now all of the boys are in the play room as Castiel makes a picnic. He makes a sandwich for everyone. Peanut butter and banana for Gabriel. Just peanut butter for Raphael. Peanut butter and honey for Lucifer. Peanut butter and strawberry jam for Michael and two ham and cheese for Dean. He packs watermelon, pineapple, carrot sticks, and celery. He packs everything into a basket and fills a mini cooler with water bottles and juice boxes.

    He finishes packing everything up and gathers up the children then sends a text to Dean saying that they are on their way to the park He’s trying to wrangle everyone into the car, Lucifer keeps unbuckling himself and Michael keeps complaining that he doesn’t need a car seat.

     “I don’t need a car seat.” Michael whines for the tenth time.

   “Yes, you do.”

      “But I don’t waaaaant it.”

   “Well that is too bad because you need it.”

        “Hellooo there!” Someone calls as Cas picks a squirming Michael up.

   Cas looks over his shoulder and sees two women walking up the driveway towards him.

        “Hello.” He replies.

   “I’m Calypso.” The women with long strawberry blonde hair introduces herself.

      “And I’m Brodie.” The women with short, slightly spikey black hair says with a smile as she sticks her hand out to shake Cas’

     The angel shifts Michael to his hip before shaking Brodie’s hand. “Castiel and this is Michael.”

   Michael waves but then hides his face in the crook of Cas’ neck when the two women smile at him and wave back.

     “Well, isn’t he just too sweet!” Calypso says still smiling.

   Cas nods and runs a hand through the boys hair.

       “We just came by to introduce ourselves. We have to apologize though, you and your family have been here for what? Two months? It’s just been so crazy lately! But we are sorry. We live right there,” Brodie points to the house on the right, “if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to ask us.”

     “Oh, it’s no big deal. We could have also come around and introduced ourselves but thank you.” Cas says smiling at their kindness.

    “Don’t be silly, sugar. You have four little ones, you’re day probably gets away from you before you even notice it,” Calypso waves a hand brushing away Cas’ ‘silly’ comment, “We also came by to invite y’all to a barbeque. You know just a little block get together on Saturday. It’s from one until whenever.”

    “That sounds great. Thank you. Should we bring anything?”

  “Just your sweet selves and be ready to swim.” Calypso responds.

     “Are you sure?”

      “Yes, darling.”

   “Okay, well thank you and it was very nice to meet you both. We’ll see you Saturday.”

      “Of course! It was nice to meet you as well. I can already tell that we’ll be great friends.” Calypso says giving Cas a quick hug.

    “We don’t want to hold you up any longer. Have a great day.” Brodie says shaking Cas’ hand again.

  Cas waves as the walk away and then goes back to wrestling Michael into the car.  

~~~~~~~~

     Dean gets a text from Cas saying that he and the kids are on their way to the park. With a smile to himself he wipes his hands off and messages back that he’ll be there soon. The day is going great, he feels happy. The job interview went amazing, he was hired on the spot and ended up fixing two cars. Both were easy fixes but it felt great to be doing something with his hands. Sticking his head into Bernie’s office (his new boss) telling him that he’s going to head out now and that he will see him tomorrow. Bernie thanks him for doing to the two cars and that he better be ready to work tomorrow.

    The whole ride to the park Dean thinks about the boys and Cas. He’s only slightly surprised by how much he wants to see the kids. They’ve grown on him so much and he really does think of them as his boys. He pulls into the parking lot that’s across from the park and then crosses the street. The sight he sees definitely does something to his mood.

     Castiel is sitting at a picnic table. There’s a women on his left side and she’s running her hand up and down his arm, clearly flirting. Cas is clearly oblivious. Dean doesn’t think, all his thoughts are on how it feels like someone with a pick axe is trying to escape through his chest. He marches over to his angel and plops down on his right side. Dean wraps his arm around Castiel’s waist and pulls his angel closer to him.

    “Hi, babe.” Dean purrs before placing a light, sweet kiss to his angel’s lips.

   He pulls back and flashes a _too_ nice smile at the women. “How are _our_ boys?”

      “Dean!” Raphael’s little voice screams, almost as if on cue.

   Dean’s a little shocked, mostly because he didn’t think that Raphael could even be that loud. He looks over to where the scream came from to see Raphael running as fast as his little legs can carry him tears streaming down his face.

     “He missed you this morning.” Cas says not moving away.

   The four year old crashes into Dean’s leg and clings to his jeans.

       “I missed you!” The brown eyed boy cries.

    Dean lifts Raphael onto his lap and the boy automatically clings to his shirt, the little boy hiccups as tears stream down his cheeks.

       “It’s okay, Thunder. You don’t have to cry. I’m right here.” Dean kisses the top of his head and rub the boy’s back as Cas wipes away some of the tears with his thumbs.

    Raphael turns and buries his face in Dean’s chest slightly wiping his face on the man’s gray t-shirt.

        “Hello, I’m Jane.” The women on Cas’ left interjects.

       The first thing Dean thinks is ‘how fucking rude’. He’s dealing with a crying child, _his_ crying child and she thinks that this is the opportune moment to introduce herself? The second thing he thinks is ‘I guess she’s pretty’. She has dark brown hair that cascades down her back, her skin is tan and some of it may be because of the sun but she’s naturally darker, she has a few freckles across her nose, her eyes are almond shaped but he suspects her green irises are contacts.

      “Hello,” Dean smiles in the way that shows too many teeth, “I’m Dean.”

    Jane sticks her hand out, ready to shake. It’s the same hand that was rubbing Cas’ arm.

      “I’m kind of dealing with something at the moment.” Dean says as politely as his body will allow.

    If the look that Cas gives him is anything to go by then apparently it wasn’t polite enough.

       “Oh, of course.” Jane laughs her hand fluttering to her lap.

      Dean looks around the playground to find the rest of his boys. Gabriel and Lucifer are in the sand box with a few other children, it seems that Gabe wants to try and eat the sand and that Lucifer is appalled by the thought of why his little brother would even want to do that. Michael is by a slide, it looks like he is trying to get away from a girl. Dean quickly excuses himself and makes his way to his oldest boy carrying Raphael with him.

     “Hey, Michael.” Dean says smiling down at the blue eyed boy.

   “Dean.” Michael sighs in relief.

        The eight year old lifts his arms up, showing he wants to be picked up. Today is full of first times. Raphael screamed and now Michael _wants_ to be held. Dean easily lifts the distraught boy onto his hip.

    Michael turns his head so that his mouth is next to Dean’s ear. “I do not like her.” He whispers.

          “Hey! Give him back!” The little girl shouts stomping her foot and putting her hands on her hips.

      Dean looks down at the blonde girl. “Um, no.”

          He half chuckles and turns around carrying his boys back to the table. Jane is still at the table with Cas and is still sitting next to him. Dean sits back down next to Cas, Raphael is on his left leg and Michael is on his right.

     “Auntie Jane,” Dean looks to his side to see the bratty blonde standing next to him her hands still on her hips, “tell him to give me my boyfriend back!”

        “Yours?” Dean half growls

      “What?” Michael squawks.

        “Boyfriend?” Cas questions confused.

      Jane laughs.

     “You think this is funny?” Dean asks whipping his head around to look at Jane.

         “They’re just kids. They’re just having fun.” Jane replies waving her hand.

      “She may be having fun but _my_ son is _not_.”  Dean bites out.

        Michael’s head turns to Dean and he stares wide eyed. Dean can feel Castiel’s eyes on him.

      “Oh what you think that just because you’re crooked he’s going to be too?” Jane giggles.

          “What?” Michael whispers confused.

       Dean’s feeling too many emotions. He doesn’t know which one is strongest. He doesn’t know what he wants to do the most, scream at her or punch her in the face. All he can do is stare with his mouth open.

      “Get the fuck away from my family.”

    “What?” Jane laughs nervously.

          “I said,” Cas’ voice is hard and dangerous, “get the fuck away from my family.”

    Dean finally looks at Cas. He’s still angry at the bitch but he’s not only proud of the fact that Cas cursed at her but he feels special that Cas cursed for him. Castiel glares at Jane until the women stands up, takes her nieces hand and leaves.

       “You cursed. In front of children. A curse that a lot of people deem the worst.” Dean states not able to keep the smirk off his face.

   Cas hums. “I’m going to get Lucifer and Gabriel so that we can eat.”

       Dean watches him walk away. He’s probably as pissed as Dean is. He holds back a sigh because he can feel all of the things they are going to have to talk about. Looking down at Michael he sees the boy biting his thumb obviously in deep thought. Dean rubs Michael’s back letting the kid think things over. There’s going to be a lot of things to talk about later.

~~~~~~~~

     Cas is still full of rage. They spent two hours at the park after eating lunch. The boys didn’t even put up a fight to take a nap. Cas aggressively washes the container that had the pineapple in it.

     “Do you want to talk about it?” Dean voice cuts through his anger.

   “You actually want to talk?”

       “Who are mad at? Me or that bitch from the park?”

    Cas turns the sink off and spins around. “Both actually. I’m mad that she had the nerve to say that, to even think that.”

     His hands clench into fists and he sucks in a breath. He can’t focus on one thing, his anger is making it too hard. Taking another breath and tries to think of the best way to explain his thoughts.

       “You said that you wanted to talk about the kiss the other night! You said that and then just dropped it and never brought it up again! You never want to talk about your feelings and then get mad when they aren’t recognized. We aren’t together but then you saw that women next to me today and decided the best reaction was to kiss me in front of her and be automatically rude to her.” He takes a breath again and crosses his arms over his chest.

    “Okay,” Dean nods taking in everything Cas just threw at him, “you’re right. I’m sorry. Not for being rude to her, she deserved that, but – wait. Wait. You knew she was flirting with you?”

     “Of course I did. I’m not an idiot. I just didn’t care that she was.” Cas states with a huff.

   “Why? I mean why didn’t you care?” Dean asks his eyes looking anywhere but at Cas.

       “Because she isn’t you!” The angel shouts exasperated throwing his arms up.

   Dean finally looks Cas in the eye a blush creeping across his cheeks. The green eyed man shifts around for a couple of seconds before deciding to sit at the island across from Cas. Dean lays his hands out in front of himself, he glances down and then back up to Cas.

      “I’m not the best at relationships, okay? But I really like you and I want to try, you know if you would want to try too?” Dean asks completely flustered, Castiel has never seen him like this.

     Castiel smiles, happy that Dean finally said what he was feeling and what he wanted, he places his hands on top of Dean’s.

   “I would love to.”

      “Really?” Dean asks raising an eyebrow.

   “Yes. Really, Dean.” Cas squeezes his hands in reassurance.

       “You know I’m really flawed and I don’t want you to regret any of this. You-“

    “Dean Winchester-“ Cas cuts the man off not wanting to hear anymore, “No one is perfect, there’s no such thing. I’m not perfect. Gods aren’t even perfect, look at Chuck. We’ve known each other for how long now? We’ve been living together for almost three months and are making our own family. I think we both know what we’re getting into. Trust me I know you have flaws, who’s the one that has to stop you from locking up the house six times in a row?” Cas questions poking fun at the man across from him.

         “That is not a flaw! That is being safe and responsible!” Dean says defensively.

    Castiel laughs in response and then leans forward to capture Dean’s lips is a soft kiss.

~~~~~~~~

       Michael jolts awake. He was restlessly sleeping anyway, not because he’s not tired. He is, very tired actually, he just can’t sleep. Grabbing his blanket and Bean he marches downstairs. He finds Dean and Cas in the living room, the T.V is on but it doesn’t look like they are watching it because they’re turned towards each other talking. Cas is the one facing the doorway so he sees him when Michael walks into the room.

     “Everything okay, Michael?” Cas asks concerned.

    Michael shuffles over to the couch, when he’s close enough Dean lifts him up and places him between the two men.

       “I’m confused.” He mumbles and tiredly rubs his eyes.

           “About what?” Dean asks while Cas smooths down Michaels unruly hair.

        “What does being crooked mean? Why did Cas say a bad word? Why did Dean call me his son?” Michael fires off his questions.

           When he doesn’t get any type of response he looks up at the two men expectantly. They are doing the thing where they are having a conversation without actually talking. Dean raises an eyebrow as Castiel narrows his eyes.

      “Okay. Michael. So there’s men that like women, men that like men and men that like both.” Dean says in a voice that makes it seem like he thinks Michael doesn’t know this.

    “Yeah,” Michael says confused as to where this is going, “and there’s girls who like girls and some people just like people as friends and people who just like people and don’t care about what they are. So?”

         Dean half smiles. “You’re right, but some people don’t understand that. They think it’s wrong that-“

     “What?” Michael shouts and stands up on the couch, “That- that! That doesn’t make any sense! How is it wrong to like someone? To love someone? Love is never wrong! How could people think that? They’re wrong!” He throws his arms up and stomps his foot, breathing heavy.

      “You’re right but-“ Cas starts.

    “I know I’m right!” Michael shouts again and crossing his arms over his chest.

        “But some people are just closed minded and think that only men and women should be together. So when Jane said that Dean shouldn’t expect you to be crooked like him she meant that just because Dean likes men doesn’t mean he should think you’ll also like boys.” Castiel explains calmly.

     Michael is not calm. He is extremely angry.

    “I can like whoever I want!” The boy screams, “and so can you Dean! That doesn’t- how can she- it doesn’t even!” He can’t even think of the words to explain what he’s thinking or feeling.

     Michael gives up on words and just screams. When he finishes he sits back down with his arms crossed, scowling at nothing.

   “Feel better?” Dean asks.

     “No.” Michael snaps.

   “I bet you understand why Cas said a bad word now?”

      “Yes!”

  With a small huff Dean leans over and places a kiss to the top of Michael’s head. He’s still angry but Dean’s small action gives him a burst of happiness. Dean wraps an arm around Michael’s shoulder and pulls him closer, Michael immediately relaxes and melts into Dean. The blue eyed boy lays against Dean’s chest and hugs the man tightly.

    “I called you my son because I do think of you and your brothers as my family. I care about you boys so much. It’s also easier to just tell other people that you are Castiel’s and mine sons, but if you don’t want us to we won’t.” Dean says in a soft voice, the one that Michael’s starting think is the tone he uses when he’s comforting someone.

    Michael hugs Dean closer. When Dean had called him his son, Michael wasn’t upset. He wasn’t upset at all, he actually liked it. It made him happy and it was… reassuring. It proves that Dean does care about him, them, like a family.

    “No, no. You can call me that, and Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. It’s okay.” He cuddles even closer to Dean, shoving his face into the man’s side.

~~~~~~~~

      Cas is so completely content. Dean and him are watching some show where people get their cars customized, Dean keeps making comments on how impractical some peoples requests are. Michael fell asleep about two minutes after they had their talk. The boys head is on Dean’s arm and his legs are hanging all over Cas.

    The angel glances at the clock, they should get the boys up in about twenty minutes. Just as he is about to voice his thought there’s a knock at the door. Dean looks over to Cas his eyebrows drawn together.

    “Are you expecting someone?”

  “No.” Cas responds but does remember that he meet Calypso and Brodie today and never told Dean about them or that he said they would go to the barbeque on Saturday.

    He gets up to answer the door. “But we do have a barbeque to go to on Saturday. The neighbors invited us.” The blue eyed angel says over his shoulder.

      He doesn’t hear Dean’s response because he leaves the room too quickly. There’s another knock at the door right before he pulls it open.

    “Samuel?”

~~~~~~~~

       Don’t get Dean wrong. He’s happy to see his little brother, of course, but he can’t help the nervous pit in his stomach. Can you blame him? How would you feel if you’re hunter brother randomly showed up on your front porch, no call or text beforehand, just shows up? It’s really not that he doesn’t want to see Sam, it’s that he can’t help thinking that if Sam is randomly here that must mean something bad is going on in his town.

    “What are you doing here?” Dean asks in a way that probably comes across a little harsh.

        “What? Your brother can’t come and visit?” Sam questions trying to sound offended.

     Dean sees right through it and can tell that Sam is trying to cover up his worry. His brother is definitely here on a hunt. He crosses his arms and narrows his eyes.

     “What’s going on?”

   “Why does something have to be going on?” Sam tries to laugh it off but it just comes across as nervous energy.

     “Sam.” Dean and Cas deadpan at the same time.

   “Okay, okay. Will you at least let me in?”

        Dean steps aside allowing Sam into the house. Cas closes the door behind them. There’s a million and one thoughts racing through Dean’s mind. He knows that nothing that Sam says is going to make him feel at ease. Sam’s here on a hunt. That’s not good, there’s nothing good about that. Plain and simple. It could be anything. A demon, a witch, a vampire, a shapeshifter, a werewolf, a skinwalker, a siren- his train of thought is cut off when Cas places his hand on his lower back.

     “What’s going on Sam?” Cas ask his voice steady.

   The house is guarded. Dean put up his own wards and then there’s everything that Cas and Chuck did. The house is guarded. It’s safe. It’s protected. The boys are safe, their fine. Even though he knows that the house is completely and utterly protected and that nothing could get in to hurt his boys, he still has the urge to run around the house and gather them all up and keep them in his vision.

     “It’s nothing, okay. Not a big deal. It’s an easy hunt.” Sam says trying to be reassuring.

   Dean is not reassured in the slightest.

       “Samuel. What is it?”

    “It’s just a couple of ghouls. No big deal. It should only take a couple of hours to take care of, but since I was I town I figured that I would stop by and see you guys. Maybe stay for a few days.”

      “I’m going to help you.”

     “No.” Sam states.

        “Dean.” Cas sighs.

     “I can do this by myself. I’ve _been_ doing this by myself. Dean you don’t need to risk yourself.”

        “What happened to this being easy? No big deal?”

     “It is easy and no big deal. There’s always a risk of getting hurt though. You’ve got for kids to take care of Dean.” Sam exasperatedly says.

        “Exactly. I have kids to take care of.” Dean replies coolly.

     Sam looks to Cas for help. Dean turns to look at the angel as well. Cas takes in a breath and opens his mouth for a few seconds before closing it again, he’s clearly trying to figure out the best way to say what he’s thinking.

    “Cas? Dean?” Michael’s voice comes from the living room.

   All three men turn to see Michael standing in the door frame to the living room. The eight year old is rubbing his eyes with his right hand and his left hand is clutching Bean, his blanket is trailing behind him some of it hanging off of his shoulders.

     “Hey Michael, why don’t you go wake up your brothers?’ Cas suggests.

   Michael nods while yawning and starts walking towards the stairs, he runs into Sam. The boy jumps back fully awake now.

      “Who are you?” Michael demands.

    “Hi, I’m Sam.” Sam says smiling trying to look less intimidating to an eight year old.

      Dean has to hold back a laugh as Michael obviously looks Sam up and down, sizing the giant man up.

   “This is my brother, Michael.” Dean interjects before Michael can say anything.

        “Oh.”

      “Can you do what Cas asked you to do?”

         “Yeah.” Michael keeps his eyes on Sam as long as he can, he finally looks away when he trips up a step.

      “I don’t think he likes me.” Sam says once Michael is finally out of sight.

    “He just has to warm up to you.” Dean tells him.

       “Yeah, he’s pretty shy.” Cas adds on.

    Sam nods thoughtfully. “You’re still not coming.” He says to Dean.

         “Funny. Since when did you tell me what I can and cannot do?” Dean questions.

     He’s over this conversation. Sam thinks it’s a discussion and it’s not.

         “This is my hunt, Dean.” Sam bites back.

       “And you’re in my house.” Dean snaps out.

           “If I’m not welcome in your home then I’ll just leave.”

       “Don’t be stupid, Sam. It is your hunt but I’m going to help you because it’s my town. Is that not how hunter curtesy works?”

          “Sam, if you didn’t come down here for the hunt then we both know Dean would have dealt with it anyway. Can we please just avoid a fight and let him help you?” Cas breaks between the fight.

        With a sigh and a roll of his eyes. “You’re right. Okay, fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? What are your feelings about Brodie and Calypso? Dean and Cas finally together, yay? (That was what I didn't plan to happen but Cas really wanted it to happen) Excited for the block party? Thoughts on Dean going on a hunt? Do you think the boys will like Uncle Sam? Feelings about Chuck? Who do you think will be the first to call Cas and or Dean Daddy/Papa? (Cause it will happen) Tell me your thoughts!!   
>  Also I love hearing about you guys personally, it was so much fun hearing about your childhood comfort items! So what is your favorite type of sandwich? Mine is peanut butter and fluff but I try not to eat it too much because it's not the healthiest, I love peanut butter and grape jam too and peanut butter and banana!   
> Love again,   
> Mess


	9. Sam Meets the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I have a special note at the end so check that out if you want. A little update on my life for you guys, so as some of you may know I graduated high school this June however I am taking a year off so I will not be attending college this upcoming fall so you won't have to worry about school getting in the way of my writing again but I have gotten a job at an animal shelter only part time though. I've been trying to do more one shots and what not also. Other than that as always I hope that y'all enjoy this update. Comments, kudos and bookmarks are loved. I hope that everyone is okay and if not than I'm sending you lots of love and good thoughts<3  
> Love,   
> Mess

Lucifer cannot believe that he was tricked into taking a nap. He is not happy about it at all, not one bit. He runs down the stairs, determined to find either Cas or Dean and give them a piece of his mind. Except when he gets to the bottom of the staircase and looks into the living room he sees a very tall man sitting on the couch watching the T.V. Taking a deep breath and quickly examining the strange man Lucifer screams. The strange man jumps. Lucifer keeps screaming until Cas runs into the entranceway looking disheveled, Michael runs down the stairs carrying Gabe and followed by Raph.

     “What?!” Cas shouts looking around the room for the danger.

   “Someone’s in the house!” Lucifer screams pointing at the man and scurrying around to hide behind Cas’ leg.

      He hears Michael huff, not sounding alarmed at all. Cas sighs and places a hand on the top of Lucifer’s head smoothing it over his hair. How can they be so calm when someone is just sitting in their house?

      “Lucifer this is Sam. He’s Dean’s brother.” Cas says still running his hand over Lucifer’s head.

    Lucifer lays his head against Castiel’s leg and grips onto his pants, enjoying the contact. He purses his lips in thought.

       “Why’s he here?”

    Michael, Gabe and Raph come down the stairs the rest of the way, all standing around Cas.

       “He’s tall.” Raphael states.

     Gabriel wiggles out of Michael’s arm and runs over to Sam. Giggling, Lucifer’s littlest brother tries climbing up Sam’s leg. Looking completely uncomfortable Sam picks Gabe up, Gabe starts poking at Sam’s face continuing to giggle.

       “He’s just visiting and yes he is tall.” Cas pries Lucifer’s fingers off of his pants.

     Cas is stupid if he thinks that he’ll get rid of him that easily. Lucifer latches onto Cas’ leg, clinging onto his pants. The blue eyed man realizes that Lucifer isn’t going anywhere and just starts walking. The six of them make their way into the living room. Cas sits on the couch and lifts Lucifer onto his lap. Sam takes a seat on the other side of the couch, he places Gabe on the ground but Gabe just clambers back onto the couch and lays himself across the large man’s lap. Michael is dragged into building a tower with Raphael, Mikey always acts like he doesn’t like playing with blocks but whenever him and Raphael start playing they make entire towns and from Lucifer’s experience they really don’t like when you pretend to me a giant and knock everything down. From his experience they will both attack you then tell Dean who will then put you in time out when you don’t apologize. From Lucifer’s expertise experience time out is the most boring thing the world has to offer, he hates it with a passion.

     “Where is Dean?” Lucifer asks keeping his eyes on Sam.

    Both Raphael and Michael look up and around the room as if they had just noticed that he isn’t around. Michael deems it not a big deal and goes back to building, Raphael quickly following suit.

       “He’s out in the garage.” Cas informs.

    “Why?”

       “Because Sam and him are going out soon.”

    “Where?” Lucifer narrows his eyes at Sam.

        “They have to do something.”

      “What do they have to do?”

          “Help some people.”

       “Who?”

            “Some friends.”

     Lucifer humfp’s, Cas and Dean always do this when they don’t want to say what something really is or what’s actually going on and it’s really annoying, he slouches back against Cas’ chest. He glances at Sam again taking in the man with a huff he looks away. It’s not that he doesn’t like Sam, it’s that he doesn’t know Sam. He hadn’t trusted Cas or Dean at first because he didn’t know them and he doesn’t know Sam so how can he like him or trust him? He looks over Gabriel laying on Sam’s lap and playing with the tall guy’s fingers and decides that two year olds are far too dumb for the world.

~~~~~~~~

       “When will you be back?”

     “I’m not sure.”

        “Will you be here at bedtime?”

      “I don’t know.”

          “What? You have to be here at bedtime!”

        “Lucifer,” Dean kneels in front of the golden haired little boy, “I think that Castiel is perfectly capable of getting you four to bed, don’t you?”

        Lucifer looks down at his bare feet scuffs his toes against the floor and shrugs. The boy had been firing questions off for the past eleven minutes, convenient because Dean had tried to leave ten minutes ago.

    “Alright, sunshine, what’s wrong?” He brushes the boy’s bangs out of his eyes, Lucifer needs a haircut.

  Dean was defiantly not expecting tears to appear in Lucifer’s hazel eyes.

     “Lucifer.” Dean coos, these boys are really getting to him he doesn’t think that he’s ever cooed over anyone or thing before.

    He pulls the boy into a hug as the tears start slipping down his turning pink cheeks.

      “What is it?” He asks before placing a kiss to the boy’s blond hair.

    “Wh-what if you don’t come back?” Lucifer sniffles.

        Dean pulls the boy slightly away so that he can see his tear streaked face. “Why wouldn’t I come back?” He asks completely confused.

          “I don’t know. I just want you to come back.”

       “I’m going to come back. I promise.” Dean’s heart breaks a little at Lucifer’s fear of being abandoned.

         “Do,” Lucifer sniffles aggressively, “do you promise?”

      “I promise.”

        “Swear?”

      “I swear.”

         Deeming that Dean is being truthful Lucifer hugs him tightly then pulls away wipes his face and runs to Cas who just came down the steps. Cas leans down and easily picks up the boy who is still a little weepy.

        “I thought you were supposed to be gone by now.”

      “I’m leaving now. Lucifer just had some questions.” Dean says then kisses Lucifer on the head and Cas on the lips.

         As he’s shutting the door behind him he hears Cas ask Lucifer if he thinks Raphael will freak out again and Lucifer’s response of ‘Oh man, I hope not.’

~~~~~~~~

       “Get him!”

        “I’m trying!”

     “Aaah! Where’d he go?!”

        “We lost him!”

     “He is tiny!”

        “We can’t lose him!”

     “We need Dean!”

         “No we don’t!”

      “How is he so fast?”

         “Found him!”

      “I’ve got him!” Cas shouts.

        Castiel lifts up Gabriel who is wiggling and giggling. He’s also naked which he’s currently loving. Cas had given him a bath, Gabe had thrown a toy into the toilet as a distraction then he made a break for it. He managed to slip away without notice, then the hunt began. He thinks that he lasted a long time, hiding under dining room table gave him a good amount of naked time he didn’t have to move until Luci came crawling under the table after him.

     “You are a trouble maker.” Castiel laughs carrying Gabe upstairs as his brothers follow them.

   Gabe shrieks in agreement and tries to see if can get his finger up Cas’ nose. He doesn’t even get his finger in because Cas moves his head to fast.

       “Hey!” He shouts trying to pull the man’s face closer to him.

     “You can’t put your finger in my nose, Gabriel.” Cas says trying to be serious but his smile gives him away.

        “Gabe that’s gross don’t do that!” Michael yells.

     The group walks into Gabe’s room. He loves his room. It’s so pretty. He’s placed onto the changing table and Cas forces him into a diaper. One of his brothers picks out an ugly dark green onesie, probably Michael, he turns his nose up at it when Cas shows it to him.

        “No.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

     This is ridiculous, he isn’t even tired and he’s being forced into getting ready for bed. Ridiculous. A yellow onesie is shown to him, Lucifer’s choice.

       “No.”

    Flipping onto his stomach he looks over the ledge and sees Plat. He tries to reach him but is lifted up and placed onto his butt on the table. He screams because are you kidding! Plat is on the floor! All by himself! Cold, lonely! He could be dying!

      “Don’t worry, Plat is fine.” Cas says handing Plat to him.

    Gabe takes him and cuddles the poor guy to his chest and gives him a few kisses before glaring at Cas for having the audacity of leaving him down there all by himself. He doesn’t know if Plat is fine, Plat could be hurt. A red onesie is shown to him and are these people kidding?

      “No way.”

  Lucifer starts cracking for some reason that Gabriel doesn’t know. Finally he is lifted off of the changing table and placed on the floor, he tries to run but is quickly picked up again and turned around now he realizes that he is in front of his dresser and an open drawer of the dresser.

      “How about you pick out the pajamas you want to wear.” Cas holds his shoulders so that he can’t make a run for it, a shame, but smart.

     With a huff Gabe gently places Plat on the ground then runs a hand over his soft fur as a promise that he will pick him back up as soon as he can. He starts rummaging through the clothes in search for something good. Some of the clothes end up flying out of the drawer, which isn’t his fault they just don’t like being trapped. Then he sees it. The most prettiest thing. He remembers picking it out when they went shopping and throwing it in the cart, but he hasn’t worn it yet. Pulling it out he proudly holds it up to Cas who smiles and then kneels down to help him into it.

~~~~~~~~

      Something’s wrong, other than Gabriel being up at three in the morning. Pushing the thought aside because he’s had the feeling for more than six hours he focuses on the toddler crying in his arms. Gently tugging the bright pink footie pajamas with ruffles on the butt off of the weeping two year old Cas lays him on his and Dean’s bed. Gabe is having one of those nights where he can’t sleep for more than two hours at a time, nights like these always take a toll on the poor baby’s little body. He grabs the lavender baby body lotion, uncapping it he pours some in his hand and starts massaging Gabe’s baby fat covered limbs.

     “I know, I know, you’re so sleepy.” Cas coos.

      “Yeah.” Gabe agrees his voice watery.

     “It’s okay though, everything’s okay. Soon you’ll be asleep and all warm and cozy.”

        Cas continues to talk to Gabe in his deep rumbly voice, trying to soothe the boy as much as he can. Lavender body lotion is supposed to help kids, or people in general, sleep. It helps Gabe and Raph but not so much Lucifer and Michael, all four of the boys having trouble sleeping. Both Dean and Cas hate that the kids can’t just be able to sleep like normal children but they do as much as they can to help them and make them feel better. It also hasn’t been that long that they’ve had the boys so maybe things will get better once they are completely adjusted, at least that’s what Dean and Castiel hopes will happen.

         Gabriel’s eyes droop shut and soft snores start escaping his slightly open mouth. Castiel finishes rubbing in the lotion and then redresses the limp boy. For a few seconds he debates if he should just leave him in their bed or if he should take him to his own bed. He decides to take Gabe to his own room, he carries the snoring boy to his crib and lays him down. The angel makes sure that the nightlight is on and that Plat is also in the crib before leaving. Just as he walks into his bedroom to turn the light off and head downstairs for some light reading his cellphone rings.

     “I don’t even know how it happened!” Sam screams into the phone sounding more than panicked.

    “Sam, what are you talking about?”

        “He’s hurt! Really hurt and I don’t even know how it happened! One second we’re packing up the car because we finished the hunt and it was easy like I said it would be. Quick and simple. But then just as we were closing the trunk and getting ready to leave out of nowhere like three skinwalkers start attacking Dean! Just Dean!! It was just… there was so much blood.” The youngest Winchester rushes everything out so fast that if Cas wasn’t an angel he wouldn’t have caught all of it.

     Cas’ entire being goes cold and clammy, he’s broken into a sweat.

   “I managed to get them off and rushed him to the nearest hospital but I don’t know how bad it is or even what’s going on. No one has updated me on anything at all. I just thought you should know and I don’t even know.”

      Cas knows that he should respond, that there are about a million things that he should or could be saying right now but his mind has gone blank. There’s no thoughts at all going through his mind. He’s trying to think of something of one thing to say but there’s nothing at all. Blank. Blank like the sky in a smoggy city. Blank like a new sketchbook. Blank like the world before creation happened. It’s blank.

    “Cas?” Sam’s voice cuts through the blank.

       The thoughts flood in. A mile a minute the thoughts come in and assault his previously blank mind. He needs to go to Dean. He needs to make sure he’s okay. Dean’s not okay though but he has to go and make him okay. He felt that something was wrong and he just pushed it off as paranoia, how could he do that? He can’t just leave though, he has the kids, and he can’t just leave the kids. He could call Calypso and Brodie. No he can’t do that, Dean would hate if he called in basically strangers to watch over their children. He could call in some angels or even one angel, Dean wouldn’t like that either, but that would be better than the neighbors. He just has to get to Dean.

       “Castiel?” Sam’s voice cuts through the rambling thoughts. 

    “Yes! Yes, I’m on my way.” He rushes out and hangs up so that he can get an angel down here as soon as possible so that he can get to Dean.

~~~~~~~~

          Camael, one of Castiel’s oldest siblings came down to watch the kids. He couldn’t have asked for a better sister, he doesn’t have to worry at all and didn’t even think of asking for someone else to come down. Camael is the Angel of Love so he is ecstatic that she was the first to answer his call.

      “Thank you again, Camael. This means so much to me. I owe you one.” Cas says as he pulls on his trench coat.

     “You’re welcome, again. You owe me nothing , little brother. Now go check on your human.” She pulls him into a hug and pats his back then shoves him out the front door, shutting and locking it behind him.

   He zaps to the front of the hospital that the Winchesters are at. When he walks in he notices that Sam isn’t anywhere in the Emergency Room waiting room, he has to be around somewhere though because he knows that they are both here, he can feel them. Rushing up to the reception desk he is greeted by a women with blonde hair that is pulled into a tight bun.

    “Hello.” She smiles in a way that doesn’t offer comfort because she looks too happy.

   “Hello, I’m here for Dean Winchester.” Cas prays and hopes that they didn’t lie about their names this one time.

       “Are you related?” The women asks not bothering to look away from the computer that she’s typing away on.

     “Wh-“

          “Because if you aren’t related than I can’t tell you any information about him.”

       “I’m his husband.” He replies without hesitation.

             “Oh,” Her faces drops, “I’m so sorry. I’ll go get the doctor or a nurse to explain this.” She says with a wave to the computer screen before jumping up and rushing away.

         He follows her with his eyes as she makes her way down a hallway then goes over to an uncomfortable looking chair. Taking a seat he can confirm that it is an uncomfortable. With a sigh he wills himself not to let his mind wonder into horror story worthy ideas.

     “Cas.”

  The angel looks over to Sam who is making his way to him. The giant man takes the seat next to him.

      “Did they tell you anything because I kept going up and asking for updates but she said that she didn’t know anything new and that the doctor would come out to tell me once everything was done but I don’t even know what ‘everything’ means.” Sam worriedly rushes out while wringing his hands together.

    “I, uh,” Cas shakes his head and runs a hand down his face, “no, no. I don’t know anything but she, the receptionist lady, just went to go get someone to tell me what’s going on.” He points to the direction the blonde women went.

     “How did you get her to do that? Some angel mind trick?”

      “No. I told her I’m his husband.”

    “Oh.” Sam coughs and turns in his chair so that he isn’t facing Cas anymore.

        Just as Cas is about ask if there’s something wrong (other than the fact that Dean is injured) the receptionist and someone in a white coat walks out of the hallway that the blonde had walked down earlier. She points to Cas then goes back to the desk as the women in the white coat makes her way towards him.

        “Mister Winchester?” She asks as he stands.

     “Yes,” He answers and shakes her hand, “and this is his brother.” Cas motions to Sam who then stands up and also shakes the women’s hand.

         “Nice to meet you both. I’m Doctor Jenkins, I’ve been the one that has been taking care of Dean. So I’ll just get right to it. He came in in some pretty bad shape. He had lost a lot of blood and the wounds were deep so he needed stitches in multiple places. His left and right side, both his legs, his left shoulder, three places on his right arm. Two of his ribs were fractured on the left side and one was broken on his right. He was beaten up pretty badly but we took good care of him and he’s stable now, a little out of it because of the pain medications. He should make a full and complete recovery but he will need plenty of rest and to take it easy.” She explains everything with confidence while keeping and air of sympathy.

      “Thank you, for taking such good care of him.” Cas says and shakes the Doctor’s hand again.

    Sam nods, his hands in his pockets.

       “He can have visitors, normally I would suggest only one but since it is just you two, you can both go back and see him.”

      “Thank you so much. We both appreciate that.” The angel smiles.

            “He’s down that hallway,” She points to the hallway on the left, “room 214.”

      Castiel thanks her again before Sam and he make their way down the hallway that they were directed to. The walk and elevator ride are silent. Cas opens the door to room 214 and his heart drops, he didn’t even know he could experience that feeling. Dean is a sickly pale color. There’s the monitor beeping away his pulse. He has an IV drip and blood bag drip. The man’s half lidded green eyes slide over to the door and a weak smile spreads across his face.

      “Cas.” He says lazily.

   “Dean.” He walks into the room and directly next to his bed.

       “Caaaas.” The sickly pale man reaches out taking Cas’ hand with his own cold slightly sweaty one.

     “Sam’s here too.” Cas informs.

          He has an incredibly strong urge to squeeze Dean’s hand but he doesn’t want to do anything that would hurt the man any more than he already is. Since he can’t risk causing pain to his partner he opts to rub his thumb across the top of Dean’s hand.

      “Saaam,” Dean smiles again but doesn’t bother to look for his brother, “Sit.” He says this looking at Cas with his almost glazed over eyes.

     Cas goes to sit on the chair that is placed beside the bed. “What? No. Here.” Dean objects and moves over on the bed and pats the newly made space next to him.

    Maneuvering around the wires and such Cas manages to sit next to Dean, still holding the man’s hand.

      “Can’t you just mojo him back to good and healthy?” Sam questions taking the seat next to the bed.

    “I can, yes.” Cas lifts his free hand up.

        “Nooo.” Dean tries to move away but not much effort is put into it and he actually ends up moving closer.

      “Why?” Sam and Cas echo each other.

     “Because. Because.”

          “That’s not a reason.” Sam firmly states.

       “It’s okay Samuel. I won’t heal him right now. When’s he more aware of himself and his surroundings I will.”

           Sam clearly isn’t ecstatic about the idea but he doesn’t protest any farther. The younger Winchester sighs and heaves himself up.

      “I’ll be back. I need caffeine. Want anything Cas?”

    “No thank you.”

        Sam leaves and closes the door behind him. Dean shuffles closer to Castiel and leans his head against the angel’s shoulder.

       “How are our babies?” Dean whispers into Cas’ ear.

     “They are all great. Gabe was having trouble sleeping again tonight but before I came to see you I gave him a lavender massage so he should sleep better now, hopefully. They all missed you at bed time. I hope you know how much they love you.” Castiel whispers back.

        Dean shoves his nose right below Cas’ ear. “I love them too.”

     “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Cas rubs his thumb over the man’s hand again and runs his other hand through Dean’s hair.

         “Not your fault, babe. That feels nice.” The freckled man hums nuzzling down onto Cas’ shoulder.

    Cas is slightly thankful at the moment that Dean is hopped up on drugs because he knows for a fact that he is blushing and the fact that Dean can’t see him right now and probably wouldn’t have realized it if he could see him right now. He clears his throat and wills his blush to go away while continuing to pet Dean’s hair. In no time Dean is out his breath hitting Castiel’s neck, which soothes the angel’s racing heart.

~~~~~~~~

       Dean wakes up in immense pain, he doesn’t think there’s a part of him that’s not in pain. With a groan he opens his eyes to the too bright room, he goes to move his arm to cover his eyes but pain erupts from the tips of his fingers all the way down his side. Squinting against the light he looks around the white walled room. Hospital.

   “Hey, how ya feeling?” Sam’s sleep laced voice asks.

      “Like a bucket of shit.”

    “You should have let Castiel heal you.”

         “Can’t do that.” Dean tries to sit up but only manages to move a fraction of an inch.

      “Why? Why can’t you let him fix you?” Sam asks annoyance dripping from every word.

           “Sam,” He sighs, “we live in a small town now, Cas and I. People talk, if I suddenly am magically healed…”

         “Okay. Well then keep the stitches and shit but let him fix your ribs at least.” Sam tries to bargain.

      “No.”

         “Dean,”

       “Sam,” Dean bites out, sick of this, “It’s not a discussion. It’s my choice and I’ve made it, so drop it.”

           Silence fills the too bright, white walled room. Dean sits and waits for his brother to say something as all of his limbs throb.

        “Fine.” Sam clips.

      “What time is it?”

           “Seven eighteen. Cas wanted to stay but he had to get back to the kids.”

       “Yeah, of course. Good, good. He should be with them. I want him to be with them.” He tries to sit up more and again hardly moves.

           “He called your boss and told him why you can’t come in. Apparently he was very understanding and said that you don’t have to worry about your job that it will be waiting for you when you’re better. Cas said to tell you to not stress yourself and he will be here as soon as he can.” Sam leans forward and grabs something next to Dean’s bed.

        “What did he tell Bernie?” Dean tries to open his eyes more but to no success.

      “Something about you getting mugged by a group of people.” His brother dismissively says.

           With a groan Dean closes his eyes and lays his head back. He thought that they were done talking but when Sam sighs and dean hears him move forward in his seat he realizes that his thought was apparently wrong.

             “Are you and Cas together?”

         Dean doesn’t know why but he stiffens at the question maybe because he wasn’t expecting it, maybe because he doesn’t want to talk, maybe because he doesn’t want to talk about that with Sam. He doesn’t open his eyes but he forces himself to relax, it’s hurting his muscles to stay stiff for this long.

             “Yes.”

      The ex-hunter doesn’t know what type of reaction he is expecting from his baby brother. The two have never talked about Dean liking both genders, it’s not something Dean ever thought would need to be talked about if he’s being honest. Yet here he is telling his brother that not only does he like men but he is dating one, a male angel on top of that.

            “Why didn’t you tell me? Were either of you even planning on telling me?” Sam asks sounding wholly hurt.

         Not expecting that reaction Dean opens his eyes and turns his slightly stiff neck to look at Sam who has his eyes trained on the ground.

              “Sam.”

           “Whatever, Dean.” Sam grumbles, he pushes back his chair and leaves the room without another word.

             Dean groans and closes his eyes again.

~~~~~~~~

          “Let me heal you.”

         “Cas.”

      “Don’t ‘Cas’ me, Dean. I’ll feel better if I heal you. _You’ll_ feel better.” Cas stands above Dean with one hand on his hip.

          Cas and Sam switched posts. Sam is watching the kids, which hopefully is going well and not like World War Three, Cas came to the hospital to check Dean out and talk to the doctor. He was forced to sit in a wheel chair as Cas wheeled him out and to the SUV which Dean is now sitting in, the passenger seat because he can’t drive, and Cas is standing over him with a hand on his hip.

    “We talked about this.” Dean sighs, feeling a great deal better because of the pain meds.

   “No. You talked and when I tried to talk back you snapped and said it’s your decision.”

       “Which it is!”

      “Yes, but you’re making this decision without thinking.”

          “That’s rude.” Dean huffs looking out the window and away from Cas’ scowling face.

        “Dean,” Cas says gently, the same voice he uses when Gabe can’t sleep, “do you realize how much of a hindrance this will be to you and how annoyed you’ll be all the time? You won’t be able to drive.”

          “Only for a couple of weeks. I’ll survive.”

      “You won’t be able to work unless it’s answering phones.”

          “I’m not answering phones.” Dean scoffs at the thought.

      “You won’t be able to pick up the boys.”

           “What?” He half squawks and turns to look at Cas again, “yes I will.”

       “No. You can’t bend down let alone lift up a child and hold him.” The angel states matter of fact.

           “They hardly weigh anything I thi-“

          “It doesn’t matter. You won’t be able to pick _any_ of them up.”

              “I will be able to pick my own kids up, Castiel.” Dean says fully aware of the harshness of his tone.

           “No, Dean Winchester, you won’t. Not only is it physically impossible at the moment with the condition you’re in but I won’t allow it.” Cas’ tone becoming equally as harsh.

              “Allow it? You won’t _allow it_?”

          “That’s what I said isn’t it. I don’t believe your ears were injured on the hunt.”

               “Oh is that what this is about?” Dean snaps.

           “What?”

                “You know what.”

        “I’m afraid I don’t.”

            “You’re all pissy because I went on a hunt.”

         “That is simply not true.”

              “It is.”

          “How are you going to tell me how I feel?” Cas asks angrily.

               “Because you’re lying and I know you are. You didn’t want me going on the hunt in the first place and now you’re mad that I’m hurt.”

            “You know what-“

        “What!?”

              “I’ll talk to you when you decide to stop being an asshole.” Cas slams the passenger door shut.

         Dean huffs and waits for Cas to get in the driver seat.

              “So I’m being an asshole?” Dean bites.

            “Yup.” Castiel doesn’t even bother to look over, he just looks in the rearview mirror and backs up.

                   For the first five minutes of the ride it stay silent but then Dean is hit with a thought. A thought that makes his simmering blood come to a full boil.

            “Did you leave the boys all alone when you came to the hospital the first time?” Dean keeps his tone steely calm.

          “Yes. Yes, Dean. I thought that you knew that I’m an _absolute_ idiot.” Castiel practically seethes.

              “Well then who did you leave them with?”

            The dark haired angel mutters something that Dean doesn’t catch.

                  “Want to repeat that?”

               “I left them with Camael.” Cas says just loud enough for Dean to hear.

                    “Who the fuck is that?”

                 “One of my sisters.”

                     “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Dean shouts.

                “Dean, please. She’s extremely nice and she was fine with them. I was back before the boys even woke up.”

           “I can’t believe you left them with an angel, an angel that I haven’t even met! I can’t believe _you_.”

               “Well what do you suggest that I should have done?”

              Dean doesn’t have an answer so he growls and looks out the window, he’s tired of this conversation, he’s tired of all conversations and he’s psychically tired.

~~~~~~~~

           “Deeeeaaaan!” Three voices ring out as Cas and Dean walk into the entrance.

         Michael comes running from the dining room. Cas quickly scoops him up and onto his hip.

            “Dean can’t pick any of you up right now.” Cas says.

         “”Why?” Michael and Lucifer ask at the same time.

               Cas looks over his shoulder to see Sam walk into the entrance Lucifer on one hip and Raphael on the other, seems like things went better than he had anticipated.

          “Gabe is in his room napping.”

             “He’s been a grouch all day!” Lucifer pipes up.

          “Seems like that’s the theme for the people living in this house today.” Cas says loud enough for only one person to hear.

               “Why can’t Dean pick us up? Why can’t you pick us up,” Michael looks pointedly at Dean, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

        “I’m just a little hurt. I’ll be okay.” Dean explains sounding winded.

      “Hurt?” Michael echoes, “How hurt? How did you get hurt? Are you sure that you will be okay?”

           “Yes, we’re sure. I’ll be fine. I just have to take it easy and rest.” The green eyed man reassures.

      Dean kisses all of the boys and then mutters something about checking on Gabe before going to rest. Sam catches Cas’ eye and raises an eyebrow, his question is clear. Castiel places Michael on the ground, Sam follows suit putting Lucifer and Raphael down. Lucifer whines but Michael tells him to knock it off.

      “Why don’t you three go downstairs and play. Sam and I have to talk.” Cas suggests but his voice lets them know that it isn’t really a suggestion.

          “Can we watch T.V?” Lucifer asks already walking into the living room.

      “Yes.” Cas nods as Sam and he start walking to the kitchen.

         “What the hell Cas? Why does he still look like that? I’m assuming his ribs are still fucked up too considering you said he can’t hold any of the kids.” Sam snaps as soon as they step into the kitchen.

      “You know your brother. I tried convincing and now we aren’t talking.”

           “You aren’t talking? Why?”

         “We got in a fight.”

             Sam huffs out a sigh and leans back against the counter. The man starts chewing on his thumb nail becoming lost in thought. As Sam thinks his life away Cas starts drifting around the kitchen looking in the cabinets and refrigerator deciding what to make for dinner.

           “You fed them lunch?” Cas asks double checking.

        It takes a few seconds but Sam nods, he moves on to chewing on the nail on his pointer finger. Deciding to make grilled chicken, mac and cheese, cooked carrots and baked green beans. He leaves Sam to his thoughts and goes out to the living room. Michael and Lucifer are sitting on the couch watching the television. Cas watches for a couple of seconds, he raises an eyebrow as he watches three little girls beat up something that looks like a monkey.

           “What is this?”

        “Powerpuff Girls! It’s awesome!” Lucifer shouts and claps.

            “Shush, Luci. I can’t hear over you.” Michael grumbles.

          “Where’s Raphael?”

              “I don’t know.” Lucifer says his attention on the television.

             Michael looks around the room and then shrugs. “I didn’t know that he left the room.”

               Castiel leaves the two to continue watching the show about powerful puff girls. He looks in the play room, Raphael’s room and Gabriel’s room, each one turns up empty. Pushing open Dean and his room’s door he can’t help but smile at the sight he is greeted with. Dean is sleeping on Cas’ side of the bed, not entirely smile worthy, but Raphael is sitting next to Dean side his legs crossed as he gently pets Dean’s face and runs his hand through the man’s hair, every few seconds he runs a finger of one of Dean’s stitches that’s on the man’s arms.  

            “Hey, Raph. What’re you doing?” Cas whispers as he walks into the room.

        Raphael looks up and drops his hands into his lap, pouting. “Dean is sick.”

              “He’s not sick, sweetheart,” Castiel picks the little boy up and slowly eases himself onto the bed with Raph on his lap, “he’s just a little hurt right now but he’ll get better.”

            “I want him to be better now.” Raphael pouts harder.

                “I know. I want him better now too.” Castiel kisses the top of the boy’s head.

             Raphael leans forward and pats Dean’s cheek with his little hand. “Poor Dean.”

~~~~~~~~

           “Of course we appreciate you offering to stay for a week to help us out, Sam,” Cas says trying to smooth things over, “We just don’t want you staying because you feel like you have to. You are obligated to anything.”

              “I know I’m not obligated to anything. I want to stay and help you guys out. I’ll just be staying for a week, not even that long.” Sam huffs out annoyed that he has to explain why he wants to stay and help out his big brother.  

         “Well thank you Samuel.” Cas says offering Sam a smile.

      Sam smiles back and then looks to Dean who hasn’t said anything for almost ten minutes.

         “Do whatever you want.” Dean shrugs and stands up.

       “Where are you going?” Cas voices the question that Sam was thinking.

            “To make sure that Lucifer isn’t wreaking havoc.” Is the response they get without Dean even bothering to turn and look at them.  

             Sam and Cas share a look. Cas looks tired and he is probably incredibly worn out. Dean can be a handful of stubbornness which can be draining on its own but having to take care of four other children on top of the moody ex-hunter can’t be a walk in the park.

         “Why don’t go rest Cas. I can help Dean with the kids.”

     “Thank you Sam but I’m fine.”

            “Okay, no offense man but you look like crap. Just go take a couple minutes okay?” Sam half chuckles as he rounds the island and pats the angel on the shoulder.

       Castiel’s lips twitch into a half smile as he nods. “Okay. I’ll just be in the office though. If you need anything don’t hesitate.”

          “You got it.”

      Sam goes down to the play room where everyone else is. Dean certainly has his hands full. It seems as though Michael and Lucifer have gotten in an argument, Gabriel has wiggled out of his clothes and diaper and is streaking around the room and Raphael is begging Dean to read him a book. Sam swoops into help without a word, he catches the naked two year old and manages to get him into a diaper. Not bothering to put any clothes on the baby he sets him back down on the ground. Gabe continues running around as if nothing happened. One issue handled two more to fix. Sam doesn’t really want to get in between Michael and Lucifer, besides Dean seem to have it somewhat under control and he doesn’t want act like he can handle the kids better than Dean himself can. So going to the little boy who looks ready to cry he kneels next to Raphael.

        “Hey, bud, how about I teach you how to read?”

     Raphael turns his big watery brown eyes up to Sam.

         “You would do that?” Raphael asks sniffling slightly.

       “Yeah, c’mon.” Sam holds his hand out to the boy who takes it.

            Raphael and Sam go over to the small book case and get settled. The hunter picks out a book that looks like it will be the best to start teaching someone how to read, Sam remembers when he was younger and always wanted Dean to read to but Dean didn’t always have to time to sit down and read his little brother four books in a row. Sam had basically taught himself how to read with only a little help from Dean and John, by the end of his weeks stay he’ll have Raphael reading all by himself.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I just have to say thank you all so much. I know I always say that I appreciate all of the kudos, comments and bookmarks but appreciate isn't even a good enough word. I just want you all to know that I truly love every single kudos and every single comment and every single bookmark. When I started this story and started writing again I never imagined this amount of feedback. Don't get me wrong I know I'm nowhere near the most popular writer on this site, but that stuff doesn't matter to me. Just having any amount of people enjoy my writing is such an amazing thing. I'm always nervous to post and then I get such nice people saying they love the story and I end up smiling for days because of it. I've had a few people say that my updates are worth the wait and I thought I was going to explode with happiness, that type of compliment is so freaking awesome and mind blowing to me. I love every single one of you and I love talking to you all. Having people like all my hard work is so unreal to me. Like you guys don't even know how much time, energy and thought goes into every chapter. I'm not complaining or anything I love writing with all my heart, that's why I do it and that's why spend every spare second I have in front of my computer. I just had to say a major thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys this story though because without all of you updating wouldn't be as fun. So from the bottom of my heart I thank every single one of you for supporting me, I truly and deeply love all of you. <3   
>  Love again,   
>  Mess<3


	10. It's Not Easy Being Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you're all happy and doing great!! Two of my friends have officially moved into their college dorms and it's weird to have them gone but I'm really happy for them. Enough about that though let's talk about the story. Some big things happen in this chapter. I've already started working on the next update so hopefully you won't have to wait to long for chapter 11, because this one does kind of end in a cliffhanger. Although there a a couple of oneshots and short stories I want to work. This story will always be my number one priority though. As always kudos, comments and bookmarks are cherished. I love you all! <3  
>  Love,  
> Mess

         To say that Dean has struggled with not being able to pick up the boys, would be the understatement of the year. Dean’s had at least seven temper tantrums because of it, he’s yelled at Cas about nine times and Sam twelve (yes, Cas has kept count). The man has been in sour mood non-stop and it’s starting to rub off on the kids. He turned over the mechanics toolbox in the garage, causing tools to scatter everywhere. It’s only been three days. Cas it sick of it. He’s over it. Dean was right about one thing though, word did travel fast. Every family on the block had stopped by with some type of meal or offers to help with mowing the lawn or doing laundry. It was all extremely kind and generous to Castiel but to Dean it was charity. He rolls his eyes simply at the memory of the argument. Just as Cas is about to leave the back deck and walk inside Sam steps out looking ready to murder.

          “I don’t care if we have to strap him down, Castiel, you need to heal him because I’m one smart remark away from knocking his lights out.” Sam practically growls out through his teeth.

       Cas does even try to hold in his sigh, he leans back against the railing. “What happened now?”

           “He said that he was going to start getting Gabe ready for bed and I asked if he was feeling up to kneeling by a tub. Apparently that question was a great insult to him and his being.” Sam scowls at the memory.

         With another sigh Cas pushes himself off of the railing and makes his way inside. He finds Raphael, Lucifer and Michael in Michael’s room. They’re sitting in a circle looking at each other and not doing anything else.

     “What are you doing?” Cas asks with a raised eyebrow.

         Raphael lets out a long breath and flops backwards. Lucifer and Michael do the same thing after a couple of seconds.

       “You stopped at the same time again!” Raphael shouts.

             “We are seeing who can hold their breath the longest.” Michael informs Cas.

         “Why?”

              “It’s a challenge!” Lucifer yells in explanation.

           Not understanding the weird game Cas shakes his head and tells the boys to have fun before he goes upstairs in search of Dean and Gabe. The two aren’t in the regular bathroom or the master bathroom, instead he finds them in Gabriel’s room. Dean is sitting on the floor while Gabe runs around the room bringing the man all types of toys and babbling on the whole time. The man has a half of a smile on his face but his eyes show sadness.

         “Hey.” Castiel announces himself before fully coming into the room.

      Gabe squeals and runs to Cas, the little boy runs around the angel a few times before running off and picking up a block with the letter Q on it then running back to Cas to give it to him. He doesn’t have a chance to thank Gabriel before the boy is running around the room giggling. Picking his way across the toy strewn floor he sits next to Dean.

         “We need to talk.”

      “Not right now.” Dean mutters back quickly.

    “Okay. Not right now, but I’m not giving you an option. We are going to talk and we are going to talk tonight.” Cas replies just as quietly but keeping his voice calm and firm.

         “Maybe you should stop ordering me around.” Dean snaps back with a snarl.

      “Maybe you should stop thinking of only yourself,” Cas stands up and plucks Gabriel off of the floor, eliciting a screech of laughter from the two year old, “Come on little monkey, time for a bath.”

        “Nooooooo.” Gabe whines kicking his legs in protest.

      “Yeeeees.” The angel mock whines back then lifts the two year old up to blow raspberries on his chubby stomach earns squeals of laughter in response.

~~~~~~~~

         As soon as the three men got all four kids into bed and asleep Dean went to the garage. He’s now sitting in Baby, he looks through his cassette tapes for a few seconds before slamming the glove box closed. Some may call what he’s doing ‘hiding’ but he’s not hiding, he’s strategically avoiding a person he doesn’t want to have a conversation with. Placing his hands on the steering wheel he squeezes and lets out a long breath. Dean thinks about everything that’s happened since Monday night. Sucking in a breath he leans forward and rests his forehead on the steering wheel. Man. Has he been a jackass or what.

        The passenger door opens and another body sits down on the bench seat. Dean cracks open on eye to glance over to make sure that it is Castiel. So much for strategically avoiding…

     “Dean,” Castiel sounds drained, “I do not understand. I offer to heal you, I tell you that I think it’s the best option, I tell you that I want to heal you, Sam agrees that I should heal you but you say that you don’t want to be healed. I tell you how you feel unconvinced because of your injuries but you still turn down my offer of healing you but then you become angry at everyone and yourself because of your injuries. I just do not understand.” 

      Dean feels awful about how tired Cas sounds but he doesn’t make any move to sit up. It’s not that he doesn’t want to talk to Cas or explain himself it’s that he doesn’t know how and he doesn’t want to burden someone else with his petty self-issues. Although, he guesses that his bad attitude for that past three has been just as much of a burden. Somewhat aggressively he pushes himself up, his ribs twinge but he ignores.

         “It’s just a shit situation.”

      “Right.” Cas agrees but sounds lost nonetheless.

          “It’s hard.” Dean adds on.

        “Yes, okay. I’m going to need more here Dean.”

      Dean runs his hands down the steering wheel. Breathing through his nose he debates leaving the car and ignoring Cas for the rest of his life. The debate only lasts a moment before he realizes that we would not be able to ignore Castiel for the rest of his life, after all they are going out. Gathering himself and his thoughts, he grips the steering wheel.

        “I know that I’ve been a real jackass lately and there’s no excuse for my behavior. It’s just that, I keep thinking back to that night and every time I do all I can think of is something different, that maybe if I had done _that thing_ instead I wouldn’t be in this position now.”

      “Dean-“

          “And it’s not that I don’t want you to heal me. Trust me when I say I do. I hate being this useless, but how would we explain to the neighbors that it only took me four days to heal and get back to work and do all these things that I can’t when I’m injured. It’s supposed to take six weeks, Castiel. Don’t even say that I could just act like I’m still injured around people because we both know that as soon as I can actually fucking do things nothing is going to stop me.”

        “You are _not_ useless-“

            “I can’t even pick our kids up. I can’t give them a bath. I can’t put Gabe to bed or take him out. I can’t do anything.”

          “Listen to me, Dean Winchester. I understand that it’s awful that you can’t pick them up and it upsets you can the kids which is completely understandable but that in no way makes you useless. You still cook and clean. You’re acting as if you aren’t able to do anything. You still keep the kids in line which is no small feat.”     

        Dean twists his lips up in thought but doesn’t say anything else. He takes in what Cas said and tries to see everything from how the angel is seeing it but he can’t. All he can see is how he should have done something else on Monday night, he should have been able to prevent this. He opens his mouth to say that Cas is right just so they can move past this but he’s stopped when Castiel’s warm hand cups his cheek and gently pulls his head to the side so that they are looking at each other.

     “If Sam was the one that got hurt would you blame him for not being able to stop what happened?”

   “Of course not but-“

       “If it happened to me would you think I had done something wrong?”

      “You know I wouldn’t…”

           “When one of the boys gets hurt are you going to think it was because they didn’t do something right? That they messed up?”

       “No! But that’s different!”

            “How? How is any of that different?” Castiel’s eyes harden slightly.

         “I- I don’t know! It just is.” Dean loses a lot of his steam because he really doesn’t know _why_ it’s any different it just _is_ different.

           “It’s not any different Sometimes things just happen, they happen and there’s nothing you can or could have done to stop it from happening. That’s just life. I won’t bother you about me healing you anymore and I’ll tell Sam to stop as well, but you have to stop beating yourself up about what happened. We’ll get through these six weeks together.” There’s nothing but sincerity in his voice and eyes.

        Dean’s chest constricts while his stomach simultaneously flutters. He reaches up to lay his hand atop Cas’ and interlocks their fingers. Castiel’s eyes wander all over Dean’s face, the man’s heartrate picks up under the intense gaze of his boyfriend. Cas starts leaning closer to Dean, it’s as if someone pressed the slow motion button on their lives which Dean doesn’t have the patience for. He jolts forward, not the smartest idea if the spark of pain is anything to go by. The angel hums once their lips connect.

       He pulls back from the semi-intense kiss that he definitely started but Cas took control willingly. “That was,” Dean waves a hand between them, “great. Really great but it feels like someone is stabbing me in the chest.”

       Castiel’s face goes from easy-going bliss to frantic concern. “Are you alright? What can I do?”

     “It’s fine Cas,” Dean lets out a half chuckle that sends jolt of pain down his chest, “I’m fine. I just have to breathe.”

        They both get out of the Impala. Dean can almost feel the worry radiating off of Cas as they walk back into the house. The angel follows him all the way to Sam’s room.

          “I’m going to talk to Sam. I’ll see you in a little bit okay.”

       He can tell that Castiel doesn’t want to have him out of his eye sight. Leaning forward he places a soft kiss to his angel’s cheek and looks him in the eye so that he understands that he _will_ be right back and that he will be _okay_. Castiel visibly exhales but nods then silently walks off.

           Dean raps his knuckles against the white painted wooden door. A muffled ‘come in’ is said. He pushes the door open but doesn’t step in. Sam looks up from his laptop and raises an eyebrow in confusion.

        “Can I come in?” Dean asks and shoves his hands into his sweatpants pockets.

      “It’s your house.” Sam answers looking back at his laptop not bothering to wait for Dean to say something back.

            The green eyed man walks into the room but doesn’t close the door behind him. He takes a seat on the edge of the perfectly made bed. Sam continues to tap away on the laptop the keys making a clacking noise from how fast his little brother is typing. Dean takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts and get used to the gentle squeeze in his chest, after this he should probably take a few Advil.

       “I want to talk.”

            Sam freezes, he stops all movement for about six seconds and then slowly turns around in the office chair. His face is twisted in pure confusion as he stares at Dean.

           “What?”

          “I want to talk to you about how I’ve been acting the past couple of days.” He further explains himself.

             Sam snorts. “You want to talk about feelings?”

         “More or less.”

              “Alright. Well, go ahead.” Sam waves a hand still sounding baffled.

         “I have been a real asshole the last few days and I’m sorry. I’ve been really frustrated about being hurt and not being able to help as much with the kids. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you though and I’m sorry.” Dean doesn’t look up from his hands as silence fills the room again.

          The bed dips down as Sam sits next to him. He half tenses semi-expecting his brother to hit him. When Sam places his hand on Dean’s shoulder the man starts a little.

        “Dude,” Dean looks up at his brother, Sam’s making that dumb face he makes when something emotional happens, “it’s okay. I get it man. Sure it’s been annoying have to deal with your temper tantrums but I understood why you were pissed. Thanks for apologizing about it though.”

           “I wasn’t throwing temper tantrums.” Dean grumbles.

       Sam laughs in response. The giant man stands up and stretches, his back cracks. Sam goes over to his laptop and clicks a few things before closing it.

          “I’m going to go downstairs and get something to eat.”

     Dean nods and stands up, he follows his brother out of the room. Sam goes downstairs to the kitchen and Dean slowly descended the stairs to the second floor. He goes to his own room. Castiel is sitting on the bed reading a book. The angel looks up as soon as Dean walks in.

          “Everything okay?”

     Dean has to take a slow shallow breath but he nods and walks over to his side of the bed. He lays down with his upper half propped up. Cas leans over, his face coming into Dean’s vision.

        “A little close there, Cas.” He softly chuckles.

     “You will tell me if you start feeling worse, won’t you?” The angel asks, worry laced in every word.

         The look on Cas’ face makes Dean’s heart hurt, it’s so full of concern and sorrow. Dean would do anything to prevent that look or make his angel feel better.

          “I promise that if I start to worse I will tell you right away.”

      “Good.” Cas lays down next to Dean.

           The angel’s head is almost on Dean’s shoulder but not quite. Dean takes Cas’ hand laces their fingers together. Cas hums and turns his head a little to place a kiss to Dean’s shoulder. The man closes his eyes and thinks that the only way he could be happier is if he wasn’t busted up. He never thought that he could be this happy, that he deserved to be this happy, yet here he is. Here he is going out with Castiel, raising four children and his brother is safe and visiting. Dean closes his eyes to keep the teas at bay, he’s not going fucking cry just because he’s happier than he ever thought possible. He squeezes Castiel’s hand and tries to get motivation to stand up and brush his teeth.

~~~~~~~~

      “Up! Uuuuuuup!” Raphael shouts for the fifth time.

          “Raphael I can’t pick you up, I’m sorry baby. Sam or Castiel can pick you up though.” Dean tries to reason with the four year old.

        Cas can tell how much it’s breaking Dean’s heart to not do something so simple for one of the boys, he wishes the man didn’t have to go through this. Raphael’s eyes fill up with tears as Dean starts plating scrambled eggs and toast. All the other boys are sitting down waiting for breakfast but Raphael has been following Dean around all morning.

        “Noooooo, yoooooou.” Raphael whines and stomps his feet.

      “Raphael. Dean can’t pick you up he’s hurt.” Michael says as firmly as an eight year old can.

         “Nooooo!” Raph screams tears starting to fall down his face.

       “No! Not again!” Lucifer drops his fork and covers his ears with his hands.

           “Sam can you feed Gabe?” Cas asks already handing the child fork to Sam.

        “Oh, uh, sure.” Sam says around a mouthful of food.

              Cas walks around the island and kneels next to Dean who is kneeling in front of Raph. The little boy has his arms wrapped around Dean’s neck and is crying into the man’s shoulder.

        “I’m sorry Thunder. I really am. I wish I could pick you up as much as you want me to pick you up but I can’t.” Dean kisses the top of Raphael’s head and rubs the child’s back.

            “Come here, Raph. I can pick you up, besides you need to eat.” Cas places his hand on Raph’s arm which only earns a watery shriek in response.

         Cas quickly retracts his hand and looks at Dean, startled. Dean looks back at Cas the man’s expression is all sadness. He wishes he could do more to help but all Cas can think to do that would fix this is healing Dean and that’s not an option. Controlling his features he doesn’t frown and instead turns his attention back to the weeping child.

           “Raphael, please. It’s okay. After you eat we can sit together on the couch.” Dean tries reasoning again.

       “Nooooo-ooo-ooo! N-nooooo-oooow!” Raph’s crying has now turned into full on sobbing.

           Dean looks as if he is going to start crying any second as well but the man holds it together. Cas wishes he knew what to do that would help but he can’t think of anything that would help this situation other than Dean picking Raphael up. He’s sure that there must be something that he could to end this but nothing is coming to mind.

        “Ple-ase up!” the boy jumps, showing what he wants, “Dadd-yyyy please up!”

     Both Cas and Dean freeze, the sound of cutlery hitting the ground and Gabe’s babbling is the only sound that echoes around the room. Dean looks at Cas and asks a silent question ‘Did you hear that too?’ Castiel nods to say that he did hear what Raph just said. The green eyed man’s face shows the confusion that he himself is feeling.

       “Carry him to the couch, Castiel.” Dean states determined.

     “What if he screams again?” Cas eyes the little boy, he does not want the screaming to happen again.

        “Castiel.”

      “Okay, okay.” He sighs.

          Cas has to pry Raphael off of Dean. Carrying a sobbing, screaming and kicking four year old to the couch as Dean follows. He waits until Dean is sitting on the couch the places Raph next to him. Raphael quickly climbs onto Dean’s lab and clings to the man’s shirt, continuing to cry. Dean holds the boy close to himself and starts whispering reassurances. Cas decides to let the two have their moment, he’s sure that Dean will tell him about it later. When he steps back into the kitchen everyone except Gabe turns to look at him.

         “Is Raphael okay?” Sam starts clearing the counter and putting the dishes in the sink.

      “He’ll be fine, he just has to calm down.”

           Michael and Lucifer look at each other, Lucifer glances at Castiel while Michael looks towards the kitchen entrance. Cas puts the juice back in the fridge. He knows the two are confused about why Raphael called Dean Daddy, and he doesn’t entirely know why Raph did it, he does know that it made him happy and it must have made Dean happy.

      “I’ll go get Gabe cleaned up.” Sam lifts the messy toddler out of the highchair.

     Castiel appreciates the fact that Sam has a sense of when Cas needs a little help or when people need some privacy. The angel sits down on the other side of the island, across from the two boys.

        “Do you two have any questions?”

      “Yeah,” Lucifer starts, a thump comes from under the table and the golden eyed boy turns to glare at his older brother while reaching under the table to rub his leg, “hey!”

        “Michael did you kick Lucifer?” Cas asks confused.

      “No…”

         “Yes!”

   “Why would you kick him?”

        “I didn’t.” Michael picks up his cups and takes a sip of his juice.

      “Yes he did! He’s lying!” Lucifer reaches over and yanks on Michael’s hair.

          “Ouch! Stop it!” Michael drops his cup, it falls to the ground juice spilling on the floor and the dark haired boy.

        “No! You kicked me! And lied about it you big fat liar!”

      “Because you were gonna say something dumb!” Michael grabs Lucifer’s cup and then throws it at his younger brother.

         “Jerk!” Lucifer screeches a battle cry and lunges forward.

        Castiel flies to the other side and catches the two in midair. He holds the two up by their shirts, the brothers continue to flail at each other they can’t actually hit each other because of how far apart Castiel is holding them but that isn’t stopping their efforts.

         “Stop this.” Cas doesn’t yell, he doesn’t feel the need too.

      Both children stop and turn to look at Cas. He sets them both on their feet and kneels between them. Lucifer is glaring at Michael, his hands planted firmly on his hips. Michael’s arms are crossed over his chest and he’s looking to side, staring at the sink.

       “Okay. What happened?”

     “Hekickedmebecusehe’sagreatbigbuttface-“

         “HewasgonnasaysomethindumbIdidn’tevenkickhimthathard-“

      “ItwasreallyhardandIjusthaveaquestion!”

           Both boys are breathing hard and scowling at each other. Cas resists the urge to hold his head in his hands. He thinks he knows what this is all about and why Michael kicked his brother.

       “Michael, you know that questions are okay. Even if you think that it will upset Dean or myself, we won’t get mad simply over a question.”

            Lucifer hugs Cas’ arm and points at Michael. “Yeeeeah.”

      “Yeah. I know…” the blue eyed boy says to the ground, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

           Michael rushes out from the room, Cas wants to stop him and sit down and talk more with the boy but Michael is like a deer and he’s already been scared off trying to go after him would just make everything worse.

       “I have a question.” Lucifer pulls on Cas’ arm.

             “Okay.”  Cas sits on the floor so that he is no longer kneeling.

        “Why did Raphael call Dean ‘Daddy’? He’s not our Dad. Do we have to call him that too? Is there something we have to call you?” Lucifer sits crossed leg in front of Cas as he fires off his questions.

          “You don’t have to call Dean ‘Daddy’ and there’s isn’t any special name that you have to call me. I don’t entirely know why Raphael called Dean ‘Daddy’ but I’m pretty sure he did it because he views Dean as a father figure.”

        “Hm.” Lucifer hums and tilts his head to the side.

             “Any other questions?”

         Lucifer shakes his head and stands up. Castiel stands up as well and follows behind the boy as he leaves the kitchen. Luc goes upstairs as Castiel goes into the living room to check on Dean and Raphael. Raphael is still sitting on Dean’s lap but he is no longer crying, Dean is reading a book to Raphael. Even though Sam is teaching Raphael how to read, which both Cas and Dean know even though Sam hasn’t told them, Raph said that he still likes when Dean reads to him. Castiel hadn’t understood why Raphael still enjoyed Dean reading to him so much but he never questioned it. He understands now, Dean uses different voices when he tells a story.

         Castiel leans against the doorframe a relaxed smile on his face. He listens to Dean tell Raphael the story of a princess going on an adventure to ask a witch for a wish. Dean finishes the story, he closes the book and places the book on the coffee table. Raphael jumps off of Dean’s lap and runs to fetch another book. The man looks over to see Castiel standing in the doorway, an adorable light blush spreads across Dean’s cheeks.

      “We should all probably get ready to go to the barbeque.” Cas walks into the room and takes a seat next to the injured man.

          “It’s only elven we still have time.” Dean half scoffs.

      “It starts at one and we both know how long it takes to get the boys ready. Also you should probably get a shower.”

           Raphael climbs up into Cas’ lap, he cuddles the little boy close. The dark eyed boy opens his book and starts reading it, Cas doesn’t know if he is pretending to read or f he can actually read this book.

         “Are you saying that I smell?” Dean asks mock offended.

     “Stinky!” Raph shouts and looks up from his book.

           Cas and Raph start laughing as Dean gasps.

       “Stinky? Do you think I’m stinky?” Dean leans over and starts tickling the little boy.

           The little boy squawks and wiggles around in Cas’ lap laughing uncontrollably because of Dean’s tickles. Raphael tries climbing up Castiel to get away from Dean’s fingers, the boy wraps his arms around Cas’ neck and tries to pull himself up to get away.

        “Help! Help me! Papa help me!” Raphael screams while laughing.

     Cas’ heart launches into his throat. He’s taken over by total shock and happiness. He would never have thought that being called Papa would fill him with so much joy. He didn’t even think that the kids liked him that much, never would he have guessed that any of the boys looked at him like a father. Of course they all like Dean why wouldn’t they? He’s never been jealous of that fact either, because why wouldn’t they Dean more?

        He scoops Raphael up and stands to get away from Dean’s tickling fingers. Raphael cheers and hugs Castiel then snuggles into his neck. Dean casts a knowing smile to Cas which he blatantly ignores. Just as Dean opens his mouth probably to tease Castiel, even though Dean’s reaction was similar, Sam steps into the room holding a wiggly and giggly Gabriel.

     “He’s clean and dressed.” Sam announces before placing Gabe on the ground, the little boy sits on the Sam’s foot.

         “Let’s see how long that lasts.” Dean grunts as he stands up from the couch.

      “I hope you’re going to get a shower.” Sam says to Dean’s retreating figure.

         “I get it I smell!” The green eyed man huffs.

        Raph erupts into laughs again as Dean starts up the stairs. Sam promises to keep an eye on Gabe while Cas gets Raphael ready and also makes sure that the two other boys get ready. Dean will probably want to put the diaper bag and other bags ready but he’ll still ask because he can do it if Dean is too worn out.

~~~~~~~~

              Michael is not having a good time no sir. Dean had stuffed him into some dumb swim trunks and told him to go have fun with the other kids, but he doesn’t want to have fun with the other kids! He wants to be with his brothers or Dean or Castiel even Sam would be better. His brothers don’t want him though, they all found other people they would rather hang out with and the adults are all talking to each other. Each time Michael went over to Cas the dark haired man or some other mean grown up would shoo him away and point out some group of kids to play with.

       Curling up into a tighter ball Michael tells himself not to cry like a baby. He’s been hiding behind the shed for like ever now. Today sucks. The morning was awful and confusing, Raphael had called Dean ‘Daddy’ then he got in a fight with Luci. He hates that he fought with Lucifer, he shouldn’t have done that but he just thought that he was protecting his little brother. Now the afternoon is just as bad, actually it’s probably worse. No one in his family wants anything to do with him anymore and he doesn’t want to meet any new people or make friends, he doesn’t need anyone other than his brothers and he thought that they didn’t need anyone else either but he was wrong. His brothers would rather play with other kids than him. That’s okay though, because he will always be here for them.

         “What are you doing Michael?” Dean’s voice comes from beside him.

     Michael lifts his head up from this knees and looks at Dean who’s standing next to him. He shrugs in response not exactly wanting to talk to the man who had ditched him.

        “Why are you crying?” The man sits on the ground next to him.

    “Wh-what? I’m not.” He frantically wipes at his face.

          “Michael,” Dean reaches out trying to pull Michael closer to him but the boy scouts out of reach, “Michael…” Dean says again only sounding hurt now.

     “Go ‘way. It’s not like you want me around anyway.” Michael turns his face away from Dean not even wanting to look at him.

        “What? That is not true at all. Why do you think that?”

    “It is too true! No one wants me around! Not you, not Castiel, not Luci or Raph or even Gabe!”

        “Michael. Listen to me, that’s not true okay, we do want you around but we also-“

    “Shut up!” Michael stands up not wanting to hear anymore, he clamps his hands over his ears, “Just shut up!” He runs around the shed and keeps running.

        He’s startled when he’s lifted up off of the ground, he squeaks in surprise and flails around to see who picked him up. It’s Dean. He scowls at the man and kicks his legs in an effort to have Dean put him down.

        “Michael. Stop.” Dean’s voice is stern

     Michael stops immediately. He stops moving and doesn’t say anything, but he wraps his arms around Dean’s neck just in case the man decides to drop him. Dean walks to where Castiel is sitting at a table talking with three other people.

      “I think Michael and I are going to head home.” Dean says to Cas.

    Cas turns to look at Dean. He stands up to talk then man so they are on the same level. Guilt overwhelms Michael, he gets the urge to hide his face in Dean’s shoulder but fights it.

      “Is everything okay?” Cas asks looking between Dean and Michael.

    “Yeah, I just think we both need a break from all this. I’ll tell you everything else later.” Dean waves his hand around gesturing to the party around them.

       “Okay, I get it. Are you okay, bud?” Castiel runs a hand through Michael’s hair.

    Michael shrinks into Dean, he doesn’t deserve this kindness. The dejected look on Castiel’s face when he shrinks back and Cas’ pulls his hand back makes him feel even worse. No wonder no one wants him, he just makes everyone angry or upset.

      “We’ll see you later.” Dean presses a kiss to Cas’ lips.

   Cas nods in return as Dean leaves the backyard. Michael is carried all the way home. Dean doesn’t say anything and neither does he. Once Dean steps inside the house and closes the door he sets Michael on the ground. Michael’s instinct is to run and hide but he forces himself to stay standing in front of Dean.

      “Do you want to talk about it?” There’s no harshness to Dean’s voice and Michael knew there wouldn’t be but he’s still on edge.

   He makes himself look Dean in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

       “For what?”   

    “For how I acted.”

       “Well why did you act like that?”

     Michael is silent because he doesn’t have an answer. He doesn’t know why he acted like that, he was just mad and wanted Dean to stop talking. This day just needs to be over it’s been one bad thing after another and he just keeps messing up. There’s too many feelings running around in him and it’s all too overwhelming. He just needs everything to be quite even himself but nothing is stopping.

       “I don’t know!” He shouts annoyed that Dean is trying to make him explain himself, doesn’t he know that if he could he already would have.

      “You need to stop yelling at me, Michael.”

           “You need to stop talking!”

       “Alright.” Dean picks Michael up for the second time.

            Normally Michael wouldn’t mind being picked up or held but he already feels like everything is moving too fast and his skin itches so being touched just makes everything that much worse. He can’t control the tears that well up in his eyes and start slipping down his cheeks. Dean places him on the bottom step of the staircase.

        “You’re going to sit here until you calm down, okay? Then when you’re ready to talk you can get up and come get me.”

           “Noooo.” He whines and rubs at his eyes to try and get the stupid tears to stop.

       “Yes. You need a time out to calm down. You’re taking a break until you feel a little better.”

            Dean walks into the living room. Michael listens to see if the man turns on the television, but he doesn’t. He wraps his arms around himself and takes a breath trying to calm himself down as tears continue to slide down his face. Focusing on breathing he closes his eyes, his slightly racing heart is starting to slow down so he’s starting to feel at least a little better.

~~~~~~~~~

         It’s been twenty minutes and Michael still hasn’t come into the living room. Dean slowly stands from the couch and goes to the entrance of the living room. He peeks his head out so that the boy doesn’t see him. Michael is still sitting on step, his head in his hands and staring at his feet. The eight year old’s face is pink and his eyes are a little puffy from crying. Dean goes back to the couch with a frown. Michael reminds him of himself, he doesn’t want any of the kids to be like him. Another ten minutes pass by before Michael is standing in the doorway, sheepishly wringing his hands together.

         “Hey buddy.” Dean sits up straighter and keeps his eyes on the boy.

       Michael drags his eyes up from the floor to look at Dean. The look on Michael’s face crushes Dean’s heart. The boy looks devastated, his crystal blue eyes still hold tears.

         “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn’t have done that.” Michael’s voice is small.

      Dean motions for Michael to come over to him. “Why did you yell?”

           Michael drags his feet as he walks to stand in front of Dean. Dean knows that Michael wasn’t trying to be disrespectful because all the kid ever tries to do is be respectful. He isn’t mad at him he just wants to understand what Michael was feeling so that maybe next it happens he can help the boy through it more.

        “I- because,” Michael takes a breath, “everything was too much. I couldn’t focus on anything. I had like a million feelings and you just kept asking questions and I didn’t know the answers.”

      Dean hopes that he’s wrong but he thinks that Michael had an anxiety attack. He leans forward and brushes the star tears off of Michael’s cheeks.

         “Can you tell me how you were feeling?”

     Michael continues to fiddle with his fingers. “Itchy and like I couldn’t get enough air. My thoughts wouldn’t slow down.”

       Dean holds back the frown that threatens to break through. His poor baby had an anxiety attack, he’s only eight. Michael keeps to many things to himself, the kid doesn’t want to burden anyone else and stuffs all of his feelings down. Dean isn’t going to let Michael go through this by himself, he’s going to help the little boy get through this.

          “Do you want to come up here?” Dean pats the space next to him on the couch.

      Michael nods and clambers onto the couch. The boy squishes himself into Dean’s side. He hugs the kid and kisses the top of Michael’s head before running a hand through his dark hair.

        “Next time you start feeling like that tell me and then we can both take a break. You don’t have to go through things by yourself. Castiel and I are always here for you, to help you with anything.”

         “But you both didn’t want me around today. You wanted to talk to other people, no one wanted to be with me.” Michael’s watery voice is muffled by Dean’s side.

     “That’s not true. Trust me Michael, I would rather hang out with you than most of the other people at that party but Cas wanted both of us to socialize.” He continues to run his hand through Michael’s hair.

         “What does that mean?”

     “He wanted us to meet new people and make friends.”

          “I don’t like people. I just like Lucifer, Raphael, Gabriel, Castiel and you. And sometimes Sam.”  Michael whines.

       Dean can’t help the chuckle that bubbles up. “Well we can stay here and do whatever you want.”

            “Okay… But why do they want to play with other people? Am I not fun anymore?” Michael sits back say that he and Dean are looking at each other again.

         “No, of course not. You’re brothers’ love you and love playing with you but they like playing with other people too. There’s nothing bad about them wanting to hang out with other people.”

     Michael hums in thought and lays down on the couch, his head on Dean’s lap. Dean grabs the remote off of the coffee table and starts flicking through the channels for something to watch.

~~~~~~~~

           “But that’s not good, Dean.” Cas says from his spot on the counter.

              “Obviously. Anxiety attacks are never _good_ , Castiel. He’s only eight he shouldn’t have to deal with that.” Dean sprays the island with cleaning product then starts wiping it down with a rag.

          “That’s not what I was referring to, although that is a problem and we are going to help him with it because as you said he shouldn’t have to deal with that. He doesn’t want to socialize, that’s not good.”

               “He knows what he wants and he just wants to be with his family. I hardly see that as an issue.”

          “Are you serious?” Cas hops down from the counter, “of course it’s an issue. How would it not be an issue? He needs to be able to connect with other people, to have other relationships, to have _friends_. You do know that right?” He leans his hip against the island.

                “I’m not an idiot, Cas,” Dean sassily snaps, “he’ll make friends when he wants to and right now he doesn’t want to. Why should we force him to do something?”

            “He’s never going to decide he wants to make friends with you coddling him.”

                  Dean let’s out a small offended gasp, he drops the rag and turns to face Castiel. “I _do not_ coddle him!”

              “Yes you do. You coddle all four of them. Whatever they want they get. If they don’t want to do something they don’t have to. You let them do whatever they want even if it’s not the best thing for them, all because you want them to be happy.” Cas crosses his arm over his chest and hardens his eyes.

                  “What’s wrong with wanting them to be happy? If I can do something that will make them happy, why wouldn’t I do it?”

              “Because you let them decide what’s best for themselves. They’re children Dean! They don’t know what’s best for themselves. We’re their parental figures, our job is to make sure they do what’s best. Letting Michael cling to only his family isn’t good. It’s just going to make his anxiety worse. What if one of us goes away for an entire day or even more than a day, or if one of the other boys sleeps over a friend’s house. He’s going to have separation anxiety because you think he only needs family and no one else.”

              “He just has to get used to being around other people!”

          “And how is he going to do that if you say he doesn’t have to be around other people?!”

               “He’ll tell us when he’s wants to make friends! When he’s ready!”

           “He’s eight! How are you going to give an eight year old that much control over his own social development?”

              “Would you stop talking about him like there’s something wrong with him? There’s nothing wrong with him!”

           “He doesn’t want friends! That’s now exactly normal!”

                   A muffled sob draws Cas and Dean’s attention away from each other and to the doorway of the kitchen. Michael is standing in the doorway one hand over his mouth while the grips Bean tight, tears streaming down his face at a rapid pace.

             “Michael.” Dean whispers, shocked.

         Michael quickly spins around and runs out of the room. Dean follows the boy and Cas follows Dean.

               “Michael.” Cas calls.

          The sound of the front door opening and closing causes Dean to start running and panic to run through Cas’ veins, his blood going cold.

            “I swear to fucking everything Castiel that if something happens to him I’m going to fucking kill you!” Dean shouts before running out the door into the dark night after Michael.


	11. No One's Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Oh man guys, this update almost didn't happen. Last night my laptop decided to update before I could save. Twelve pages and two weeks worth of writing was all gone, I was a crying mess as I tried everything I could think of to get my hard work back. Luckily I got everything back all thanks to my wonderful mother, so a special thanks to her! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, I think it's good but at the same time it feels a little like a filler to me. I don't know, I hope you all like it. It's mostly the family trying to get through Michael feeling like a screw-up. I have to say that I am pretty excited for the next chapter though, a certain new person is coming in and I'm excited about you all meeting him. If anyone is curious about the timeline, I finally figured it out a little bit, check out the notes at the end! So happy reading! As always thank you all for everything and please tell me your thoughts I love hearing from you all and getting to talk to you!!  
> Love,  
> Mess

Michael’s feet crash against the pavement, his heart is pounding so hard it feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest, tears are falling so quickly that everything is blurred and he can hardly see. He stops running because his lungs feel like they’re about to collapse. Inhaling and swallowing the pain he quickly looks around to see where he is. He thinks that he is still on his block, taking another breath his heart starts beating a little slower.

         “Michael!” He hears Dean call out for him.

      Looking both ways and deciding it’s safe he runs across the street. His feet are starting to hurt since he’s not wearing any shoes but he ignores the pain. He focuses on running because he has to get away. Right now all that matters is getting far away. Dean and Castiel were fighting and it was all because of him. Cas was right he’s not normal, he can’t just be a good boy like his brothers and do what he’s supposed to. He has to be difficult and make their lives harder. They don’t need to deal with that, they don’t deserve all the trouble that he causes. Everyone’s life will be better when he’s gone, everything will be easier.

         He stops again to survey his surroundings. He’s farther up the street now, close to the corner. Once he’s off the street he’ll be okay. He can go into town and find someplace safe to stay… for the rest of his life. Starting to run again he picks up the pace so that he can get away faster, he holds Bean close to his chest so that he doesn’t drop her. Michael’s almost to the corner, almost gone. Taking another step his foot gets caught on a part of uneven pavement. Sucking in a breath he tumbles forward, his right knee slides against the concrete. Pain flares across his knee as he lays against the side walk, breathing heavy.

           “Holy crap, Michael.” Dean’s voice is close to him.

         Michael flips over so that he’s sitting now and not laying on his stomach. His hands sting from the movement. Castiel and Dean are running towards him, he pushes himself up panic and fear crashing against the inside of his skull. The pain in his knee startles him, the sight he sees when he looks down makes him freeze. His right pajama pant leg is torn open revealing his injured knee which is dripping blood. That shouldn’t be happening. Why does he skin look like that? What’s going to happen to him? His legs are shaking from the pain and effort of wanting to run, but all his brain can focus on is the blood leaking out from him.

         A hand on his shoulder tears his glassy panic-filled eyes away from his knee and too the two men kneeling in front of him. Both Cas and Dean look utterly frightened. Dean is out of breath and Cas has an arm around the green eyed man’s waist, as if Dean will fall without the extra support.

          “It’s not that bad. We just have to clean it up and put a bandage on it.” Castiel states, his eyes on Michael’s knee.

      “Why,” Dean takes a long breath that racks through his body, “why did you run, Michael?”

           “You were fighting because of me.” Tears start falling again.

         “That’s not true.” Dean stutters out around a shuddered breath.

              Michael’s heart hurts at seeing Dean in so much pain, he did that. He ran away which made Dean chase after him even though he’s hurt and Cas said he can’t work out and too much physical labor hurts him, Michael did that to him.

         “It is true! And now you’re hurt because of me!” His chest heaves as he goes from crying to sobbing.

            His body starts shaking, he can’t hear what Cas and Dean are saying if they are even saying anything at all. All he can focus on is the pain coming from his feet and knee, and the feeling of his lungs being on fire. An incredibly hard sob wracks through his body, the harsh movement makes his knee give and he crashes to the ground.

       Someone picks up his trembling body. He tries to calm himself but can’t manage to do it. There’s a rumbling that comes from the chest of the person that’s holding him, it must be Castiel then. Breathing becomes hard and he thinks that maybe tonight is the night that he will die. Sleepiness suddenly overcomes him and his breathing starts to even out. His eyelids droop shut, the warmth emanating from Cas lulls his heart to a normal pace.

~~~~~~~~

           “Dean would you please lift your head up?” Cas asks exasperated.

        In response Dean bangs his head against the desk and groans. “We are awful parents. We shouldn’t be doing this. They deserve better. We’re going to ruin them. We’re supposed to make them better than what they were. He’s going to be scarred for the rest of his life and it’s our fault, _my fault_. Oh my fucking god.”

          “So we messed up. It happens. We will work through this with him.” The angel’s words make Dean’s head snap up.

        “You called him _not normal_ and he _heard_ you.”

             “Are you trying to blame this all on me? You just said it was both of us.”

          “No, I’m not… but at least I was defending him you were calling him a freak.” He huffs the last part out under his breath.

               He knows that no matter how quite he talks Cas will hear always hear him because of his supersonic angel ears. Castiel’s narrowing of his eyes proves that he heard what Dean had said. He narrows his eyes back, it’s not as if Cas can be mad about what was said because what he said was true.

           “I didn’t call him a freak.” Cas ‘ voice is stern and his eyes are hard.

               “You basically did.” Dean sneers.

            “And you screaming like a lunatic didn’t have anything to do with him getting upset?”

                 “What’s with the name calling, bird brain?”

             Cas puffs out a breath and rolls his eyes. Dean leans back in the office chair and runs hand through his hair. This shouldn’t even be happening. They shouldn’t be in this situation trying to figure out how to deal with a little boy who thinks his parental figures fight because of him and don’t want him around. Dean’s mind flashes to the image of Michael lying on their bed asleep with his knee bandaged and the bottom of his feet red.

                “This shouldn’t have happened. He shouldn’t be hurt. He was crying so hard. We shouldn’t have been arguing in the kitchen, we’re fucking idiots.” He lets his head drop into his hands.

           “I could always wipe the memory from his mind and heal him.” Cas mutters because he knows what Dean will think of that terrible idea.

               “Are you serious? And what every time something unpleasant happens to one of them we just erase their memory and act like life isn’t shit sometimes?”

           “I’m just trying to make you feel better! I don’t know what you want Dean!” Cas’ arms fail out, he holds them open as if to show that he would do anything for Dean, “and as much as I’m worried about Michael, I’m also worried about you. You picked Michael up and carried him and I let that go because I didn’t want to cause a scene around our neighbors but then you ran after him. I thought you were going to pass out. You’re pushing yourself too much.”

                Dean looks away from Cas and stares at the bookcase. He’s actually been in pain all morning. Once they got back to the house last night, he and Cas had worked together to clean Michael up he refused for Cas to heal to the boy but he did thank Cas for making Michael fall asleep because he knew that the kid wouldn’t be calming down anytime soon and he didn’t want him to get sick or pass out. They had then taken Michael to their room. Cas laid down with Michael and Dean while both slept. Michael is still sleeping but Dean only slept for four hours. Now they’ve been talking in the office for four hours, it’s six in the morning and he knows Gabe will be waking up soon and so will Sam who is leaving today.

           “I have a doctor’s appointment today anyway. I do need to stop pushing myself, it hurts.” Dean grumbles the second sentence.

              A small smirk tugs at Cas’ lips, Dean wants to slap the smirk off his face. The word therapy comes into his mind as a solution to Michael but he pushes it away because none of his kids need some stranger asking about their lives. He sits back ready to try and brainstorm with Cas again about what they should do but the baby monitor that he brought in with him comes alive. Gabe’s grabbled sleepy cries come out from the monitor.

         “I’ll get him. You go take some medicine.” Cas says while yanking the office door open.

~~~~~~~~

                Dean’s at his doctor’s appointment, Calypso drove him and is going to bring him home since the man can’t drive yet and Cas had to stay home with the children. So the angel gets to deal with the boy’s saying goodbye to Sam by himself, he thinks that’s the only reason Dean didn’t fight about having the neighbor take him to the doctor’s. Castiel is holding a sleepy Michael while the other three say goodbye to Sam, or while Gabe cries clinging to Sam’s leg and his brother’s stand by trying to get him to stop. Sam kneels down and picks up the crying toddler, he starts wiping the tears away and promising that he will come and visit as much as possible. Gabriel hiccups and rubs his snotty nose on Sam’s shirt to which Sam makes a disgusted face at but smooths down the two year olds hair.

          “I have to go back to work but my job is pretty flexible. I’m not going to be a stranger, I promise.” Sam puts Gabe back down on the ground causing the toddler to whine.

              Lucifer quickly gathers his little brother up and starts peppering Gabe’s face with kisses. Michael yawns in Cas’ ear and shifts so that his face is hidden in the angel’s neck. Cas runs a hand down the dark haired boy’s back, he never thought that raising children would involve so much concern. Samuel gives Lucifer and Raphael a hug then walks over to Castiel and Michael.

         “I’ll be in touch. You better keep me updated on everything.” Sam runs a hand through Michael hair, at first Michael flinches but then Cas runs his hand down the boy’s back again and he relaxes.

             Cas just wants them to be happy, all of them. He want’s… his family to be happy and right now two of them are anything but happy. He’s going to fix that though, he’s going to fix everything no matter what.

         “I will. Be careful. It was easy to make sure that you and Dean were safe, it’s harder now while trying to keep track of four kids.”

            “You don’t have to worry about me, Cas. You have a family to worry about now. I’ll be okay. I have been.” Sam smiles.

         Castiel can’t help but smile back. “You still better be careful.”

             Sam walks back to the door and picks up his two duffel bags, he opens the door then looks over his shoulder with a smirk. “Careful Cas, you’re starting to sound like a real parent.”

         With one final goodbye to everyone Sam closes the door behind himself. Lucifer carries Gabe to the window so that they can watch Sam drive away. Michael goes limp as he falls back asleep in Cas’ arms, he takes him to the couch in the living room and lays him down. He puts a blanket over the slumbering child then heads back to the entrance to gather Raphael, Lucifer and Gabriel. Gabe is still weepy about Sam’s departure but Lucifer is trying his best to make his little brother smile.

             Lucifer turns around and bends over so that he’s looking through his legs, he sticks his tongue out and crosses his eyes. Raphael snorts at the same time that Gabe breaks out into giggles and starts clapping his hands.

       “You’re so weird, Luc.” Raph says with a laugh.

              Lucifer’s response is to straighten up and turn around again so that he’s facing his brothers, he sits down with his legs crossed and fast as a snake he reaches out to grab Raphael’s legs. The six year old pulls the younger to him and starts tickling his brother mercilessly. Raphael’s uncontrollable laughter makes Gabe continue to giggle. With a shake of his head Cas starts walking to the dining room so that he can go to the kitchen.

        “I’m going to go make lunch.” Cas announces.

            This gains Lucifer’s attention, he ceases his tickling and sits up. “I want pizza. When’s Dean going to be home? He’s been gone forever.”

        “We just had pizza for dinner last night, you can’t have it for lunch today and he should be home soon.”

             “But I want pizza!” Lucifer stands up, leaving Raphael on the ground to catch his breath, he follows Cas to pester him about pizza.

~~~~~~~~

                  Michael is hiding. He woke up on the couch with a blanket over him. At first he felt content and safe but then memories of last night came flooding back. He tried to make a break for it but the front door is locked and can only be unlocked with a key, he doesn’t have any key. He was going to try the back door but he heard Cas in the kitchen. So he hid.

            He’s hiding in the linen closet in the bathroom that’s in the playroom. His knees are pulled up to his chest and his arms are wrapped around his legs. He’s resting his head back against the wall with his eyes closed. Last night is playing on repeat in his head, a constant cycle of failure. The backs of his eyes sting but he refuses to let himself cry. Michael is caught him in his own thoughts that he doesn’t hear the door open.

                “Mikey, what are you doing in here ya weirdo?” Lucifer’s cheery voice asks.

           Michael’s head snaps up to look at his brother’s smiling face. Lucifer’s smile quickly drops, just as Michael is about to ask what’s wrong Lucifer talks first.

                “Oh man, Michael what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Lucifer quickly drops to his knees and scoots forward so that he’s directly in front of Michael.

           “I’m fine, Lucifer.” Michael tries to make his voice steady but he’s fairly certain that he fails.

                 “Stop lying. What’s wrong?” Luc demands.

            “How did you even know where I was?”

                  “I know you the bestest, duh. Now what is wrong?”

              Michael sighs, he shouldn’t bother Lucifer with his issues but he knows that his brother won’t leave him alone until he talks, it better to just do it the easier way. “I shouldn’t be here.”

                  “In the closet? I agree. It’s small and dark.”

             “No, I mean in the house.”

                   “Outside is better. The sun is outside.” Lucifer nods in understanding.

              “I shouldn’t be in the family, Lucifer!”

                    Lucifer’s face twists in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

              “All I do is cause problems. I shouldn’t be here. You would all be better off without me.”

                   “Shut up!” Lucifer punches Michael’s shoulder, “You know that’s not true!”

               “It is true!”

                    “It’s not! How could you even think that?” The blond glares.

              “It’s the truth! Dean and Cas we’re fighting last night because of me. They were yelling and angry and it was all because of me.” Michael looks down at his feet willing the tears to stay at bay.

                 “Mikey that can’t be right. You do everything right, you’re a goody goody. You’re perfect.”

            “No I’m not.” Michael chokes out the watery words.

                   “That’s it. Come on.” Lucifer grabs Michael’s hands and halls him up.

            Lucifer drags him out of the closet and upstairs. Michael tries to fight against him the entire time but Luci is freakishly strong. He tries explaining that whatever Lucifer is about to do is probably not a good idea, but once Lucifer has his mind set on something there’s almost no changing it. They get to the kitchen where Dean is feeding Gabe, Raphael is trying to hide his celery under a napkin and Cas is pretending not to notice.

                “Michael is perfect!” Lucifer shouts, Michael tries to squirm away.

          Dean, Cas and Raphael all look over to Lucifer which means they also look over at Michael. Lucifer’s grip tightens on Michael’s hand.

               “What?” Dean asks.

          “There you two are.” Cas says as if he hadn’t heard Lucifer’s shout, which is hard to believe because if Lucifer isn’t loud than no one is.

             “Michael is perfect. He never does anything wrong _ever_. He’s always helping and always trying to make sure everyone follows the rules-“

          “Lucifer-“ Dean tries to cut in but Lucifer isn’t having it.

               “And you upset him! Why?!”

           “Lucifer, we didn’t meant to-“

                 “But you did!”

             “Stop shouting, Lucifer.” Cas says in a calm stern voice.

                  “NO! You made Michael upset! You made him CRY! NOW TELL ME WHY!” Lucifer’s face is starting to turn red, showing how angry he is, and his grip on Michael’s hand has become steel like.

             Gabriel’s hands are covering his ears, he’s never liked fighting or people screaming, he’s eyes are tearing up. Raphael looks unimpressed with everything that is happening before him.

                 “Stop it, Luci. You’re making Gabe sad.” Raphael says around a mouthful of chicken nugget.

            “Gabe isn’t the only one that matters and neither are you Raph! Stop being selfish! Michael is upset and all you care about is other people! He puts us first all the time!”

                 Raphael flinches back as if Lucifer had hit him. Dean stands up and Cas braces his hands on the island’s counter top. Michael had thought that last night had been the worst moment of his life but he was wrong, this right now is the worst moment of his life.

          “Enough, Lucifer.” Dean says clearly unhappy.

                “NO!” Lucifer shouts at the top of his lungs.

            “Lucifer. Screaming isn’t helping.” Cas tries to sooth the blond but Michael knows it’s futile.

                “He thinks he doesn’t deserve to be here, in this house, in this family, because of you two. How could you do that?” Lucifer growls out, he looks ready to attack.

                      Both Cas and Dean’s face twist into one of shock and sadness. Michael can’t stand them looking at him like that so he moves his eyes to the floor. If the world were to end right now, Michael thinks he would be okay with that.

            “YOU DON”T EVEN CARE!” Lucifer kicks his foot up in annoyance.

                  Lucifer pulls Michael along behind him again, he runs a up the stairs and to his own room. Faster than Michael can even think Lucifer has the door locked and has placed himself and Michael on the bed. He doesn’t know what’s happening anymore and he doesn’t have the energy to think. All he knows is that he’s overwhelmed and is pretty sure his family has just fallen apart. Michael crawls to the top of Lucifer’s bed and lays downs, closing his eyes against the pain flowering in his head. Lucifer’s body curls against his, the blonds head against Michael’s chest.

             “It’ll be ‘kay, Mikey.”

                   Michael wants to believe his brother but he can’t. How could anything be okay after what just happened?

~~~~~~~~

               “They’ll come out when they’re ready, Dean. There’s nothing we can do but wait for them to calm down and unlock the door.” Cas tries to rationalize to Dean.

                  “Michael thinks we hate him and now Lucifer does hate us.”

             “He doesn’t hate us. He was just standing up for his brother.”

                      “Were you not watching the same kid that I was? Seemed like hatred to me.”

                “Did you ever hate John when you fought with him? Or when he fought with Samuel? Did you ever hate John when you stood up to him for Samuel?”

                     “I don’t want to be their John.” Dean flops down onto the couch with his head in his hands.    

                “You aren’t. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just using it as an example, just because they are mad doesn’t mean that they hate you.” Cas puts his hand on Dean’s knee and rubs his thigh trying to comfort him.

                    “Sam was always mad at Dad. They never saw eye to eye, he ran away all the time. He did everything he could to get away. He wanted nothing to do with being a Winchester and wanted nothing to do with Dad. Cas I…” His voice catches so he clears his throat, “If Lucifer becomes that, if I make him like that… I can’t deal with that. I won’t be able to live with myself.”

           Cas cups Dean’s cheek and guides his face to look at him instead of the carpeted floor. “There’s one huge difference between you and John. John did everything for himself, even if it seemed he was doing it for someone else he choose what to do by thinking it would help him or his plans in the end. His end game was always selfish. You are selfless. Everything you do is for _them_.”

                  Dean mulls over what Cas just said. The words bounce around his head each one twisting and colliding into the others. He doesn’t understand how Castiel always sees him for more than he is. His whole life he’s heard people say that when you become an adult you become you’re parents. What’s stopping him from becoming his Father? Nothing. What keeps Cas from seeing every flaw that’s etched into his DNA? He has no idea. With a sigh he heaves himself off of the couch.

             “I’m going to get some air. If they come out, get my right away.”

          He doesn’t see Cas’ reaction since he keeps his back turned as he walks to the back door. Weeks of gaining Michael’s trust all down the drain in less than twenty four hours. Same with Lucifer. Both boys came into the house thinking they only needed each other and their younger siblings. Lucifer had thought that Cas and himself would get tired or bored of them and send them away again. Michael was constantly on edge as if waiting for one of the adults to tell him he did something wrong and hit him. Precious hours of getting the boys to feel safe all thrown into the trash because Cas and him are idiots.

            Dean looks out over the backyard and holds back a groan. He has to fix this, make it better. Michael and Lucifer shouldn’t feel like they have to protect each other from him. He’s not going to let his family fall apart because of one mistake. It doesn’t matter what he has to do, he’ll do it.

~~~~~~~~

           “I got your back, Mikey.” Lucifer makes his left hand into a fist and punches his right hand.

                 “I just want to fix this. We don’t need to fight anymore.” Michael sighs while gripping the doorknob tighter.

            “We aren’t the ones that have to fix anything.” The blond says through gritted teeth.

                   “Please, Lucifer. Just follow my lead. I- I can’t take this anymore.” Michael’s left hand grips his aching head while his right lets go of the doorknob and lays over his hurting heart.

             “Okay. Whatever you say brother.” Lucifer deflates beside Michael.

                   With a curt nod Michael unlocks the door and slowly pushes it open. He steels his nerves and readies himself for whatever it is that they’re about to face. At the pace of a turtle he descends the staircase. His brother stays at his side the entire time. When they finally get to the bottom of the stairs he carefully looks into the living room. Dean and Cas are both sitting on the couch. Dean’s head is resting on the back of the couch, his hands over his eyes. Castiel’s back is to the doorway as he talks quietly to Dean. With a gulp Michael walks into the room, Lucifer on his tail.

           Michael stands in front of the television, placing the coffee table between him and the adults. Lucifer stands next him with his arms crossed over his chest and an angry frown on his face. Dean’s head snaps up and Cas turns so that everyone is looking at each other. He puts his hands behind his back and clasps them together. He doesn’t know what to say and even if he did the burning in his throat lets him know he would start crying. When did he become such a crybaby?

                  “We want you both to know that we do care about how you feel. We will always care, we never want you to feel bad.” The blue eyed says with sincerity in his voice and eyes.       

             “We never want to make you feel bad either.” Dean adds on, his fingers interlocked on his lap.

                     “Then why did you do it?” Lucifer snaps.

               “Lucifer.” Michael groans.

                      “I’m just asking!”

                 “Okay,” The freckled man claps his hands together, he looks tired and sad, “I need both of you to listen to me. Castiel and I we’re talking about something, discussing, but we weren’t agreeing. Instead of trying to understand each other we got angry and defensive of our thoughts. We didn’t handle the situation correctly, that’s _our_ fault and _our_ problem, not either of yours.”

                     Castiel is looking at Dean with a small smile and a weird look in his eyes. Michael doesn’t know what the look means but he likes it. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Lucifer deflate. Although Michael may feel a little better they were still talking about him and they still got angry because of what they were talking about, which was him.

               “Are we okay?” Dean asks looking hopeful.

                       Michael can feel his brother’s eyes on him, he nods. Lucifer nods a millisecond behind him.

                 “But-“

                        “We have to talk to you privately, Michael. You aren’t in any trouble.” Cas quickly says.

                     He nods again, nervous but not scared anymore.

~~~~~~~~

             Cas, Dean and Michael are talking in the adults bedroom while the other three boys play in Raphael’s room. Michael is sitting crisscrossed on the bed with the two men standing in front of him. The angel can feel the nerves bouncing off of both the man next to him and the child in front of him, Dean puts on a mask much better than Michael does though.

               “Why are you afraid of making friends?” Cas starts the conversation.

          “I’m not afraid.” Michael quickly retorts, defensively.

                “You got rather upset when your brother’s played with other people and you refused to play with anyone new.”

               The dark haired boy shrugs and looks down at the comforter, tracing the patterns with his pointer finger. “So?”

                    “So why don’t you want to hang out with anyone else?” Dean steps in his voice turning soft, the way it only does when he’s talking to one of the boys.

               “I don’t need anyone else.”

                      “Friends are good Michael. It’s nice to have more than just your family.” The man explains.

             Michael’s eyebrows draw together, his eyes moving back and forth as if he’s searching his mind for an answer. Cas glances over to Dean, the man catches his look and turns his head to look back. His green eyes show how much he doesn’t want to be doing this, how much he hates seeing Michael upset and how much he hates doing anything that risks making the eight year old anything but happy. Castiel grabs the other’s hand and gives a slight squeeze to reassure that they need to do this.

                   “I don’t want anyone else.” Michael finally responds.

             “Why?” The two ask together.

                    “I can’t just leave them behind, they’re my baby brothers. I need to always be there for them. I need to always be ready to help them. I can’t be distracted by other people.”

                Dean raises an eyebrow, he looks to Castiel the same moment Cas looks to him. The angel shakes his head in bafflement. All the boys have their own set of issues and problems to deal with, expect maybe Gabe whose biggest issue is thinking that it’s a good idea to try and eat four brownies at once, but Michael thinking he has to do everything for his brothers and doesn’t deserve to do the same things they do has always been concerning. It’s the one thing they haven’t been able to get Michael to realize isn’t true.

                      “Michael, you’re life doesn’t revolve around you’re brothers. There’s nothing bad about having friends and doing other things than constantly being with them.” The words come out as if they’re a personal mantra for the ex-hunter.  

               “No!” Michael jumps up, a fire behind his eyes, “I need to always be here for them! They have to know I won’t choose _anything_ over them, not ever!”

                        Dean is taken aback by the reaction he steps back, ever so slightly behind Cas, a quite noise comes from the man’s throat letting the angel know his voice got caught. Realization knocks Castiel in the back of the head. Chuck had said that even if the boy’s memories were gone, feelings and ideas could still come to the boys or be stuck in their heads. Michael might not have the memory of putting Lucifer in the cage and choosing mankind over his brother, but the thought of losing his brother and ruining their relationship scares him because the idea seems real to him, he doesn’t want to go through it again even if he doesn’t remember going through it before. Cas remembers though, he was only a young angel at the time but the first time that Lucifer was banished to the cage, it ripped Heaven apart, it destroyed all of the Archangels and their relationships.

                 “Having other people in your life doesn’t mean you choose them over your brothers. Who says you even have to choose? Why can’t there be both? A balance.”

                        Michael keeps his eyes on Cas, his face blank. The angel can tell that the eight year old is working everything out, comprehending the words that were just said to him. With a quick breath the boy looks down his eyes on his feet. Michael’s shoulders slump as he sits back down.

                “I’m sorry I’m not normal.”

          Cas tries not to look at Dean, he’s pretty sure that he knows what the man looks like right now, but he can’t help himself. When he turns he is met with Dean’s unimpressed glaring eyes and the man’s hands planted firmly on his hips.

                  “Michael.. I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it.” Cas says it to Michael but he is still looking at Dean.

               “It’s okay. It’s true.” Michael answers dismissively.

                     “It is not. There is nothing wrong with you Michael.” Dean cuts in, his voice is hard and leaves no room for argument.

                 Michael says nothing in response to Dean, he instead flops off of the bed. The boy walks over so that he’s standing in front of Cas and Dean.

                   “Can I go?” 

                Dean nods at the same time that Cas steps to the side to so that Michael can leave the room. The angel closes the door behind the boy as Dean sits on the edge of the bed.

                    “Do you think any of that clicked in his head?” Dean wonders aloud.

              “Only time will tell.”

                      Dean shakes his head and runs a hand down his face. Castiel sits down next to the man, he runs his hand down his back and rest is on the small of the green eyed man’s back.

                “You never told me how your doctor’s appointment went.” Cas wants to take Dean’s mind off of Michael for a little bit, constantly thinking about any one thing is never good but constantly thinking that you might be failing one of your children is so much worse.

                        He knows that all the kids have their own problems, maybe it’s only fitting since Dean still has so many things to work through. The man he’s sitting next to, the man he’s pretty sure he loves more than life itself, needs to get over his fear of becoming John Winchester. Castiel knows that he himself isn’t perfect, that there’s things he can fix about himself. That doesn’t scare him though because he knows that they will all help each other, they will all work through their issues. He knows everything will be okay.

~~~~~~~~~

                 It’s been two weeks since ‘the worst moments of Michael’s life’, those are Michael’s words not Lucifer’s. His older brother has become determined to figure out how to make friends and try to understand what’s so great about other people. So far it is not going well. At all.

         “Arrrrgh! Mikey it’s not that hard!” Lucifer yells, exasperated.

      “I’m sorry, Luc! Maybe we should just do something else, like play a game or something.” Mikey frowns and starts biting his thumb nail.

        “No. I’m going to help you.” The blond replies now sounding determined.

       All morning Lucifer has been trying to explain to Michael that it’s fun to hang out with other people. Mikey doesn’t get it though, family is everything to his big brother and in his mind wanting to play with other people means you don’t want to play with your family anymore. Lucifer blames Chuck, he doesn’t exactly know why but he does.

         “What if you can’t help me?”

       “Shut your dumb mouth!” he flings himself forward and covers Mikey’s mouth with his hand, “I will always be able to help you. Always, big brother. Okay?”

          Mikey nods since his mouth is covered. Satisfied, Lucifer sits up. Not bothering to move he stays sitting on his brothers’ stomach.

       “Let’s start from the top. Family is good.”

            “Lucifer.” Michael sighs.

        “Don’t interrupt!” his older brother rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything, “As I was saying. Family is good. Friends are also good. Both are good.” He nods his head in agreement with his own words.

             “But how do you pick a friend? Not everyone is nice, Luci.”

        “I’m not always nice but you like me.” Lucifer shrugs.

              “That’s different.” Mikey scoffs.

         “How?”

              “You’re my brother.”

          “So?”

               “So it’s different!” Mikey says with an annoyed huff.

          “I guess…” he brushes his bangs out of his eyes, “But making friends is easy! You just go up to someone who looks cool and ask if they want to play the awesome game you came up with.”

              “I’m not good at coming up with games… that’s what you do.”

         “Okay. Well you’re good at being a goody goody.” Lucifer snickers.

              “Lucifer!” Mikey pushes him off of his stomach.

        Lucifer tumbles to the ground, holding his stomach as he laughs. He hears Michael huff and grumble to himself before stomping out of Lucifer’s room. He quickly stands up and follows his big brother. It’s not like he lied! Michael is always trying to be good and follow the rules and do what’s right, it can get kind of annoying actually.

        “Mikey! Hold on Mikey!”

     “No! I’m done talking to you.” Michael starts stomping the stairs.

          “Well that’s not very nice mister goody goody.” Lucifer chuckles to himself.

        He could be a comedian, he’s so funny. Lucifer almost falls back but catches himself. He hadn’t been paying attention and ran into Mikey who had stopped walking and is now facing him with his hands on his hips.

           “Stop calling me that. It’s not funny.”

      “Yeah it is. Do you not get it? Is that why you don’t think it’s funny?” He asks concerned that his brother doesn’t understand his jokes.

           “I get it! It’s not funny! It’s mean.” Mikey’s hands flail around as he talks.

       “What? No it’s not.” Luci dismisses.

            “Yes, it is.”

        “No, it’s not.”

             “Whatever. You don’t get it.” Mikey turns around and rushes down the stairs.

         “You don’t get it!” Lucifer screams at his brothers back.

                All he’s doing is trying to do is help his brother but if Michael is going to be stuck up then why should Lucifer even bother? He sticks his tongue out at Michael’s retreating figure and marches back up the stairs to his room, he’s going to play something fun instead of trying to help his stick in the mud brother. Earlier Castiel said that they are going to go to the park later today and Lucifer was going to try and help Michael get a cool friend, but now Michael can do it by himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time. I actually just finished season 11 of Supernatural. The reason for this is because when I started watching the show it was when season 11 just started so by the time I finished all the seasons on Netflix season 11 was already half done. So my friend who got me into the Supernatural got the DVDs and lent them to me, I finished the season in like four days. I always thought this story would take place well before season 11 but now finally seeing it all I can say that this story definitely takes place way before season 11. Honestly I didn't really like season 11, I thought it was a little boring and that there was a lot of continuity errors. I did still enjoy the season but it is probably my least favorite, I just didn't really like the plot of it though I do think it had to happen. I can also say that I don't hate Chuck but I do hate him as a father. Anyway enough of my rambling, I hope that anyone who wanted a clearer idea of the timeline is happy. Also if you don't like my opinion on season 11 that's fine but don't leave a jerky comment about it, if you do you won't be getting a response. <3  
> Love again,   
>  Mess


	12. Crowley Cares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope everyone is well, not as many people commented on the last chapter as usual I missed you all. Anyway we have some new characters in this chapter so let me know what you think of them. This update is a little later than what I was planning but that's because I'm writing a short story and work has been a little crazy lately.   
>  For a while now I've been thinking of either making an Instagram or Tumblr so that I could talk to you all more often and maybe post about my stories on there? What do you guys think of that?   
> As always kudos and bookmarks are loved and comments are amazing because I love talking to you all <3   
> Love,  
> Mess

Michael and Lucifer didn’t talk for the rest of the morning and even now that it’s the afternoon they aren’t talking. Now Cas is taking him and his brothers to the park, he said that Dean needed to rest so that’s why the green eyed man stayed home. Castiel parks the car and Michael unbuckles himself and then Gabe. He jumps out of the car then picks up Gabriel from his car seat and the diaper bag. Cas gets Raphael out of the car then gives Lucifer a bag to carry. He sets Gabe on the ground to hold his hand as they walk into the park.

      Lucifer and Gabriel go to the sandbox. Raphael spots someone he played with at the party two weeks ago he goes to them still carrying his book. Castiel walks to a picnic table, Michael follows him. He sits next to Cas and folds his hands on the top of the table then rests his head on his arms. Swinging his legs he looks around the park. It’s a pretty big park, there’s a side for little kids and then there’s a side for older kids. His eyes drift from the little kid side to the big kid side. Something catches his attention, four kids are standing in an almost circle around a boy. The boy tries to get up but is pushed back down. Michael scowls at the sight.

          He turns to tell Cas that someone is being picked on, so that he can put a stop to it. Castiel is on the phone though, he doesn’t want to interrupt. Michael turns back to look at small kid being pushed around in a circle. Anger floods through Michael, does no one else see this happening? He quickly makes a decision and hops off of the picnic table bench. Taking a breath he stands up straight and marches over to the slide where the group is.

       “Please stop.” The little boy says as he’s pushed from a girl to a boy.

    The four kids around him all say ‘please stop’ in a mocking tone. Michael steps into the circle, he catches the boy when he’s pushed forward and sends a glare to the person who pushed the kid.

       “What do you think you’re doing?” One of the girl asks as she walks around to look at Michael.

    The four kids all cross their arms and stare at Michael. Michael isn’t deterred at all, he glares at the two girls and two boys while keeping a hand on the smaller boys shoulder.

        “What do you think you’re doing?” He questions back.

    “We are just having fun.” The tallest boy says.

        “Yeah we’re just playing a game.” The girl with reddish hair adds on.

      “Then why was he asking you to stop?” Michael challenges.

          “That’s just part of the game.” The girl with blonde pigtails scoffs.

       “I think you’re lying.”

           “They are.” The boy next to him pipes up.

        Michael hardens his glare. “Go away.”

            “What if we don’t?” Tall boy asks.

         “Then I’ll get my dad and he’ll tell your parents that you were being jerks.” Michael makes sure he doesn’t trip over the word ‘dad’, it’s not like he can say that he’ll get his Cas.

              The four kids all make a face at Michael and start grumbling to each other as they walk away. Michael smiles to himself proud that he helped someone.

         “Thank you.” The boy next to him says.

               Michael turns to look at the shorter boy and his breath gets caught in his throat. The boy in front of him is probably the most beautiful person he’s ever seen, he has blond hair that’s way blonder than Lucifer and Gabriel’s and freckles strewn across his cheeks and nose. The boy’s eyes are purple with some specks of gray in them.

         “You’re really pretty.” Michael whispers.

       A light pink blush spreads across the boy’s cheeks and his eyes flick down to the ground.

          “Thanks.” The boy mutters while moving his foot back and forth.

      “I’m Michael.”

          “Jaxlyn.” The pretty boy looks back up and sticks his hand out to shake.

    Michael shakes Jaxlyn’s hand and smiles but his smile quickly falls as he remembers what just happened.

         “Why were they being mean to you?”

      Jaxlyn shrugs and waves a hand as if what happened doesn’t matter. “I don’t know. They’re just mean. Sometimes people are mean to me because I’m small for my age.”

          “That’s dumb. How old are you?”

       “Eight.”

            Michael’s shocked, he wasn’t expecting that. Jaxlyn is the same age as him but he’s shorter than Lucifer. Even though he’s surprised he would never be mean to someone just because they are small and he would really never be mean to someone so beautiful.

        “How old are you?” Jaxlyn asks.

               “I’m eight too.”

        “Cool!” Jaxlyn smiles and it makes Michael’s heart gooey, “do you want to play something?”

              “Yeah! But um, not good at coming up with games.”

          “That’s okay! What do like to do here? Do you like the slides? Or the monkey bars? Or the sandbox?”

              “Um, I don’t know,” he says sheepishly, “I’ve never really played on anything. What do you like to do?”

          “Oh, well I like the swings. They are _tons_ of fun.”

               “Then let’s do that.”

          Jaxlyn smiles and claps his hands together then he takes Michael’s hand. He pulls Michael along to the swings. Jaxlyn jumps up onto one of the swings he tells Michael to watch what he does and then he can swing too. Michael watches as Jaxlyn kicks his legs trying to… do something.

          He looks around to see what other people are doing. Most of the kids on the swings have someone behind them pushing them forward. Michael goes behind Jaxlyn and gives a small push. Jaxlyn squeaks, Michael quickly pulls his hands back thinking that he accidently hurt his hopefully new friend but then Jaxlyn starts laughing. With a smile Michael pushes Jaxlyn forward which causes the purple eyed boy to laugh louder.

      “You can swing too! Now that I’m started I can do it.”

          “It’s okay. I like doing this. If that’s okay.”

       “Yeah, dude it’s okay! Push me higher!”

            Michael does what Jaxlyn said. He didn’t think he would have fun with someone that wasn’t one of his brother’s, but he doesn’t even always have fun with his brother’s so maybe that was a stupid thought. He’s not sure though, he thinks Jaxlyn is special.

~~~~~~~~

         “What are you staring at? You look like kind of creepy.” Dean sits on the picnic table bench next to Castiel, who is staring at something.

            “Michael’s playing with a boy.” Cas replies bewildered.

         Dean follows Castiel’s gaze and sees Michael who is indeed playing with another boy, and it’s not one of his brothers. It seems as if the little boy with bleach blond hair is trying to teach Michael how to do a cartwheel.

           “They’ve been playing for almost the entire time we’ve been here.” The angel informs him.

      There’s an ‘I told you so’ on the tip of Dean’s tongue and he really wants to say it. Though maybe he shouldn’t say it because he didn’t think that Michael would make a friend this fast, honestly he thought it would take at least two months. Instead of saying I told you so he decides to look around the large park for the other boys, because his I told you so would probably be wasted there’s still a lot of work they have to do with the eight year old. Neither of them even know how this is going to end, maybe Michael won’t even want to play with this kid again.

           “Wait,” Cas turns to look at the man, “you’re supposed to be at home. Resting.”

        “I did rest,” Dean moves his left shoulder in a small shrug, “and I got bored so now I’m spending time with my family.”

              Castiel sighs and shakes his head but he doesn’t bother to argue with Dean. He smiles at the angel’s smart choice. His attention is dragged away from watching Gabriel shove his foot in Lucifer’s face and to the angel next to him as Cas starts talking about some parenting article that he read.

             Just as Cas is getting into the importance of children developing their own identity and Dean is wondering if there is anything more boring in the world that his partner could have decided to read an _entire_ article about a child’s voice cuts through Castiel’s words. Both the man and the angel’s attention are drawn to the voice. Dean is greeted with the sight of the bleach blond haired boy that Michael was with just a little bit ago. He looks behind the small boy to see Michael running across the grass to the picnic table.

              “I don’t mean to be rude but I wanted to introduce myself,” the boy sticks his hand out to Dean, “I’m Jaxlyn Wright, I’m eight years old and I’m Michael’s friend. You’re his Da right?”

         Dean’s taken aback by a couple of things- the fact that this boy is so well spoken, that he’s eight and that he is introducing himself as Michael’s friend.

            “Uh, yeah. Yes. We’re Michael’s fathers.” Dean shakes Jaxlyn’s small hand.

        “It’s nice to meet you both.” Jaxlyn replies as he shakes Castiel’s hand.

              Michael stops behind Jaxlyn, his hands on his knees as he catches his breath.

         “Hello.” A deep voice comes from behind the man and angel.

               Dean doesn’t get a chance to turn around before the man comes into view. A dark skinned man with close cropped hair stands next to Jaxlyn, he places his hand on top of the boy’s head. Dean tries not to jump to conclusions since Jaxlyn isn’t freaking out he must know the man standing next to him.

          “Hi Pa! This is Michael, my friend and his dads.”

               “Nice to meet you, I’m Isaac.” The man shakes both Dean and Castiel’s hands with a firm grip.

          “Dean.”

                “Castiel.”

           “Are you gentleman new to town? We haven’t been to the park in a while but I don’t believe that I have seen either of you around before.” Isaac’s voice is smooth, it has an easy going flow to it.

                “We’ve been here for almost three months but this is only our second time coming here. Moving in has taken up a lot of time.” Castiel explains.

            “Oh man can I relate. We moved here about three years ago. It’s not easy, especially when you have children in the mix.” Isaac ruffles Jaxlyn’s hair, the little boy does not appreciate his hair being tousled so he lifts his father’s hand up and moves closer to Michael.

                  “We’re going to go play!” Jaxlyn announces, he takes Michael’s hand in his own and leads the taller boy over to the little rock climbing wall.

             “May I?” The still standing man gestures to the other side of the picnic table.

                     “Yeah, man.” Dean nods.

               “Is Michael your only kid?”

                      “We have three other boys. All of them are younger than Michael.”

                Isaac whistles lowly and shakes his head. “I can’t even imagine. Jaxlyn is my husband and mines youngest. We have a thirteen year old daughter and another son who is fifteen.”

                       “It has its challenging moments.” Cas agrees.

                  “How long have you and your husband been married?” Dean asks his eyes had caught the wedding ring earlier.

                       “Ten years.” A smile quickly comes to the man’s face as he recalls the happiness of being with his husband.

                   The conversation easily flows into talking about Isaac’s husband and his children, his pride about each of them is so genuine is amazing to Dean. In return Cas and Dean talk about their children. He can already tell that Isaac is a good man and that if Michael stays friends with Jaxlyn he won’t mind having to be around the boy’s father.

~~~~~~~~

                  “He’s so smart too.”  Michaels says as he trails close behind Cas.

                         Dean stayed at home with Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel who all fell asleep almost instantly after lunch. Cas had to go to the store to grocery shop and Michael had asked to come along. For the entire ride to the store and so far the entire time they’ve been in the store Michael has not stopped talking about Jaxlyn.

                    “You told me that.” Cas smiles at the boy before he starts picking out peppers.

                           “He knows all the states and their capitals. I think that’s impressive.”

                   The angel nods, he has to contain his laughter. It’s endearing how infatuated Michael is with Jaxlyn. He never would have thought that the eight year old would make a friend so quickly and even if he did he didn’t think Michael would become so fascinated by someone he just met. He turns back to the cart now with a bag of green peppers. Michael is standing on the cart holding onto the handle.

                         “That is impressive.” Castiel nods.

                  “I’m going to be able to hang out with him again right?” Michael questions as Cas pushes the cart along with the boy still standing on it.

                         “Of course. Dean and I got Jaxlyn’s Pa’s phone number so we can plan a day for you two to hang out.”

They finish getting everything they need from the produce section, Michael chattering away the whole time about how nice Jaxlyn is and how no one should ever be mean to him. Castiel had only ever taken Gabe along with him to go grocery shopping and that had involved a lot of putting things back because the two year old kept snatching things off of the shelves, the trip had taken much longer than usual.

     “Do you want to pick out some cereal?” He asks the eight year old who has stopped talking long enough to breath.

                Michael nods then rushes down the aisle to get a few boxes of cereal, Castiel keeps an eye on him while he looks at the choices of crackers he has to choose from. As he contemplates the crackers he also thinks about Michael and Jaxlyn, he wonders if this friendship will last and if the other boys will like Jaxlyn.

~~~~~~~~

                     Dean walks past the living room and looks in to make sure Michael is where he left them, the blue eyed boy is in the same spot. For the past four days Michael has been commandeering Dean’s phone for at least an hour so that the oldest child can talk to Jaxlyn. He smiles as he climbs the stairs to Gabriel’s room. It’s sweet how enthralled Michael and Jaxlyn are with each other.

                The sight he sees when he opens the door to the nursey turns his blood to ice. Gabriel’s window is open about half an inch, which it absolutely wasn’t when the toddler had been put down for his nap. With a racing heart he checks the crib, Gabriel is snoring away, his heartrate doesn’t slow any as he races to the window. The smell of sulfur infiltrates his nose and there’s a line scratched into the windowsill. He examines the lock to see that it’s busted.

                    He slams the window shut then grabs the toddler out of the crib. Dean wants to lock the bedroom door behind him but he doesn’t have the key on him. He tries to compose himself so that the kids don’t freak out because they see him freaking out. Gabe starts waking up, the dark blond haired boy rubs his face against Dean’s shirt before letting out a squeaky yawn. Dean rushes down to the playroom where Castiel is with Raphael and Lucifer.

                “Lucifer!” Raphael screams, the noise rouses Gabriel awake even more.

                      “You have to share!” Lucifer shouts back.

                “Lucifer, you didn’t even want it until Raph had it.” Castiel tries to placate.

                      “Cas, can I talk to you?” Dean keeps his voice level even though his inside feel like their riding a spinning carnival ride.

                “Yeah, what’s going on?”

                       “In private.”

                Castiel raises an eyebrow but nods. They tell Lucifer and Raphael to watch Gabriel and be nice to each other. The pair goes up to the living room and sends Michael down to the playroom with his brothers. Dean explains what he saw and smelled to Cas, who he thought would be just as concerned as him but if the look on his face is anything to go by Castiel seems totally unbothered.

                     “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.” Cas shrugs.

                “Nothing to worry about? Did you not here me?”

                      “I did, it’s just,” the angel shrugs again, “maybe it’s something else, not something supernatural. I didn’t feel anything and I mean, a demon in our own house, I think I would notice that.”

                “You sound like Chuck.”

                     “I do not.” Castiel huffs, deciding that that’s enough of a response.

                “You do.”

                       Dean turns on his heal and goes back up to the second floor, he gets the key from his room and locks Gabriel’s door then he splashes holy water on the wood. The house is supposed to be protected by Chuck and Castiel, a demon or anything for that matter shouldn’t be able to get within a fifty yard radius let alone _in_ the house. He’s not taking any chances, they had been too loosey goosey with Raphael, he isn’t taking any risks with the kids.

                He makes his rounds around the house to check that all of the sigils are in place, which they shouldn’t have to be, everything that Dean set up is still in place though. That does make it even stranger that something would have got in, that doesn’t mean that something _didn’t_ get in. Dean takes Castiel’s cell off of the kitchen counter. He finds the number he needs and presses the call button.

                    “What do you want, feathers?” The British accent sneers.

                “It’s Dean.”

                     “Aaah, squirrel. How are you?” Crowley’s tone completely changes.

                “Not too well. I have a few questions for you.”

~~~~~~~~

                      Dean’s back is too Castiel as the green eyed man washes the dishes, the angel knows that’s not the only reason that Dean’s back is too him and won’t acknowledge him. It’s not that he doesn’t understand Dean’s concern, it’s that he doesn’t think there’s much to be concerned about at the time being. He opens his mouth to try and resolve this silly spiff but someone knocks on the front door. Castiel looks in the direction of the front door, confused since he’s fairly positive that they weren’t expecting anyone. The person knocks again, this time with more vigor.

                “Do you want to get that or do you want to just sit there?”

                       With a sigh and a roll of his eyes Cas gets up and goes to the front door, which someone is now banging on.

                “What is that?” Lucifer asks walking down the steps, carrying one of his baby dolls.

                     “Someone’s here.”

                “You don’t know who?”

                      “Not yet.”

                Lucifer makes a noise, he stops on the bottom step on hand on the railing and one hand on the doll. Castiel pulls open the door to see a disheveled Chuck standing in front of him, Lucifer makes another noise.

                     “Chuck are you okay?”

                “Where’s Dean?” Chuck pushes past the angel and steps into the foyer.

                     “That was rude!” Lucifer shouts and stomps his foot.

                “Lucifer,” Chuck sighs while wiping a hand down his face, “the adults need to talk so why don’t you go up to your room.”

                     “You can’t tell me what to do.” The six year old crosses his arms over his chest.

                “Can’t you control him?” The shorter man asks, annoyance laced in with every word.

                      “Excuse you?” Castiel questions, trying not to let his anger bubble up.

                “I don’t have time for this, where’s Dean?”

                      “Chuck?” Dean is standing in the doorway that leads to the mostly unused dining room.

                “He’s being rude!” Lucifer shouts to inform Dean.

                       “Really?”

                “Yes!”

                       “Dean, I need to talk to you.” Chucks states, ignoring everything that is being said.

                The green eyed man raises an eyebrow and purses his lips, he looks past Chuck to Castiel. Cas shrugs to show that he doesn’t know what’s going on.

                      “Sure, Chuck. Castiel do you want to take Lucifer upstairs?” Dean’s eyes narrow in the slightest way possible, to say that he wants to chat privately with Chuck.

                In response the angel cocks his head a millimeter to the side, silently asking the man if he’s sure that he wants to be alone with God. Dean nods and starts walking to the living room, breezing past Chuck. Castiel picks Lucifer up, the boy glares a hole into the side of Chucks head the entire way up to the second floor.

~~~~~~~~

                      Dean stands in front of the recliner in the living but doesn’t take a seat until Chuck sits down on the couch. The slightly composed Chuck that Dean had somewhat gotten used to is no longer around, the Chuck that is sitting on the couch looks as if he just had a frantic panic attack and hasn’t slept in weeks.

                “I cannot believe you would betray me.” Chuck says with a shake of his head.

                      “What the hell are you talking about?” Dean asks utterly confused.

                “What am I talking about? What am I talking about?! I’m talking about you talking to Crowley!”

                       “How is that betraying you? Wait- how do you even know about that?”

                “Um, hello, I’m a God. I have my ways. How is betrayal? You’re talking to the King of Hell! Why, what could possibly be the reason you needed to talk to him? If you needed something _I_ could have done it.”  

                     “Oh yeah because you’re so great with helping people out.” Dean deadpans.

                “I don’t need the attitude, Dean Winchester.”

                      “This is ridiculous,” he stands up and stretches, “I have things to do and deal with. You know where the front door is right?”

                “Why did you call him?” Chuck stands.

                        “Because I have some concerns and the only one that will take me seriously is Crowley.”

                “Well what are your concerns?”

                       “I’m pretty sure that something tried getting in the house, through Gabriel’s room.”

                “Pfft, impossible. With all the protection surrounding this house an ant shouldn’t even be able to get in here.”

                      “I knew you would say that and Castiel said the same thing basically. So I called Crowley to ask him if he knew of anyone, or thing, that was planning on coming after either myself or Castiel.” The man exits the living room.

                “You could have just called me and I could have told that there’s nothing to worry about.”

                      “Sulfur isn’t smell that just randomly comes into houses.” Dean snaps, annoyed that both Chuck and Castiel think nothing bad can happen just because _they_ are around because that’s definitely how it’s always worked.

                “No, but-“

                      A knock at the door interrupts Chuck. Dean wasn’t expecting anyone to come over tonight and now he’s had two people banging on his door. He walks the short distance to the door, Chuck hovering over him the entire time.

                “Crowley!” Chuck shouts directly into Dean’s ear.

~~~~~~~~

                     “Impossible, huh?!”

                “Get out! You aren’t allowed here!”

                      “Yet here I am!”

                “What will it take for your ego to be downgraded?!”

                      “No one wants you here! You aren’t needed!”

                “That’s funny because as far as I know Dean likes me, unlike you! He can’t stand you?”

                     “I thought you and Dean were together.” Michael says looking at Castiel his confusion evident.

                     “We are.” Castiel confirms as he gently removes a wooden block from Gabriel’s mouth.

                “It sounds like those two guys are fighting over him.” The eight year old says while trying to wrestle a puzzle piece from Lucifer.

                    “Gross! Chuck is down there!” Lucifer tries pushing Michael away by shoving his hand into his brother’s face.

                With an exasperated huff Michael gives up. “Chuck is here?”

                     “Yes, he and Dean are talking.”

                “Yelling.” Raphael corrects.

                      “Loud.” Gabe agrees.

                “I said GET OUT!” Chuck’s voice booms through the house, the floors vibrate from the power.

                      All four of the boys scream, Raphael and Gabriel immediately start crying. Lucifer and Michael looks like they will breakdown at any second but they’re trying to hold it together. Castiel needs to stay with the kids and calm them down, he has to comfort the boys, but he also needs to go downstairs and defuse whatever the hell is happening downstairs and also possibly punch Chuck in face.

                “Okay, it’s okay,” Cas reassures, he picks up the two youngest, “everything is fine.”

                        “A-are you sure?” Michael tries to stealthily move beside Cas and hug the angel’s leg.

                “It doesn’t seem okay.” Lucifer says from behind Michael.

                   

~~~~~~~~

                      “Get him, Castiel!” Lucifer’s loud scream breaks through the staring contest that Chuck and Crowley had going on.

                The man and two supernatural beings look over to the stairs, Castiel is holding a crying Raphael and Gabriel. Michael and Lucifer are hiding behind Castiel. The look on the angel’s face is total amusement.  

                     “Yes, Castiel, remove him.” Chuck turns his head away from the King of Hell and waves his hand in the direction of Crowley.

                “What the- how,” Cas breathes through his nose, “Why is Crowley here?”

                       “I called him but I didn’t think he was just going to show up.” Dean tells his significant other.

                “Why did you call him?”

                       Dean hesitates for a moment, he glances at the kids then looks back at Castiel. “About the smell?”

                “What smell?” Michael pipes up.

                       “Why were you all yelling?” Lucifer adds in his own question.

                Gabriel’s crying picks up which eggs Raphael cry harder. Chuck rubs his temples, Crowley rolls his eyes at Chuck’s movement.

                     “Alright, everyone who doesn’t live here leave.” Castiel states sternly.

                “I actually have some important information to tell both you and your lover.” Crowley smirks.

                     “What’s a lover?” Lucifer asks, his wide eyes on Cas.

                “Okay, whatever. Chuck whatever it is you’re here for can wait another day.”

                        “It cannot! I’m here because of him!”

                “No screaming allowed! It’s a house rule!” Lucifer throws his head back to yell.

                      “Enough!” Dean uses his ‘Dad’ voice.

                Everyone freezes. Michael and Lucifer are staring at him both their eyes wide. Crowley has a semi-impressed looked on his face. Castiel is waiting for what he’s going to do next and Chuck looks incredibly annoyed.

                     “Michael and Lucifer go upstairs to your rooms, and pick out your pajamas for tonight. Castiel and I will be up soon.”

                The two oldest boys run up the steps. Dean takes a step towards Castiel, the angel passes Raphael over.

                      “Chuck and Crowley go to the kitchen and don’t say one word to each other, just sit in silence until Castiel and I come.”

                God and the King of Hell don’t say anything they just glare at each other as they walk into the dining room. Dean sighs then presses his nose to Raphael’s head. Castiel is bouncing Gabe on his hip trying to calm the toddler down.

                     “I’m sorry about all of this Cas,” Dean lets out a breath then starts rubbing the four year olds back, “I called Crowley because I just wanted to know if he knew about _anything_ and then Chuck showed up because he’s annoying now our kids are upset which is ironic I guess because the only reason I called Crowley was because I wanted to protect them.”

                “It’s okay, Dean. Technically Crowley shouldn’t even be able to get into the house which means that maybe something is going on. We’ll figure this out,” Castiel presses a kiss to Dean’s lips, “you shouldn’t be holding him though.”

                     “The doctor said that I can hold Raph and Gabe for short periods of time.”

                Cas rolls his eyes but smiles. The pair start walking up the stairs, Cas purposely walks slower for Dean’s because the man is walking slower since he’s carrying the brown eyed boy.

~~~~~~~~

                     “Finally! I don’t have all bloody night to wait for you buggers.”

                “I’m so sorry. We only had to put four children to bed we should have just hit them on the head with a pan to make the process quicker.” Dean responds.

                     Cas smirks but doesn’t say anything as he hops up to sit on the counter top.

                “At least now I can tell you what I need to tell you.”

                      “Yes, what exactly is this important news?” Chucks asks with his chin in his hand.

                Crowley sends a glare to Chuck before looking to Dean and Castiel. “Someone has sent a witch after your children.”


	13. Jenny Greenteeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers! I've been having a little bit of a rough time lately, but writing always makes me feel better. I hope you all enjoy this update, there are a lot of parts I love if I'm being honest. I hope you all know how much I love talking to you all, reading your comments and talking to you always makes me happy. As always I hope that y'all are doing great and continue to do great <3  
> Love,   
> Mess

“What?!” Cas shouts and jumps off of the counter.

                        “Impossible, huh?!” Dean screams.

                “Okay, let’s calm down. Perhaps there is a mistake.” Chuck is clearly trying to stay calm but the nervous pull in his voice gives him away.

                       “Unlike you, I am not a man who makes mistakes,” Crowley looks around the kitchen with raised eyebrow, “why do I not see any Whisky?”

                “Since we have four children in the house we don’t keep alcohol out in the open, especially since Lucifer is one of those children.” Cas spits out, annoyed.

                      “Well where is it?”

                “We don’t have any! Fucking explain.” The green eyed man growls.

                       “Let’s take this out to the deck.” Castiel intervenes.

                “And leave the kids in the house by themselves? I don’t think so, I don’t even want them to be upstairs by themselves.”

                      “You mother hened Sam and now you plan to suffocate the four upstairs?” Crowley taunts.

                “Sorry we can’t all be emotional distant witches that want their son dead.”

                        Chuck laughs at Dean’s comment at the same time that Crowley huffs and looks away. Castiel shakes his head and leans back against the counter. Irritation is flowing off of the angel as he and Dean wait for the King of Hell and God to stop bickering.

                “Alright, I don’t have the time or patience for this. Explain this whole witch business, Crowley.” Cas’ voice is cold and steely, Dean enjoys that it’s not directed at him.

                       “Why would I do that?” The King of Hell scoffs.

                “Because if you don’t you won’t have kneecaps to walk back into hell with.” Dean backs his angel up.

                      “Always with the threats Squirrel.”

                “This isn’t a game, Crowley.” Chuck glares.

                       “Then why am I having so much fun?” 

~~~~~~~~

                Castiel slams his head on the dining room table to which Dean puts a hand on his back in an effort to comfort. Crowley starts humming the tune to Three’s Company while Chuck grinds his teeth in such a harsh manner that Dean doesn’t think the tiny man will have any teeth left soon.

                     “Why. Would. You. Even. Come. Here. If. You. Weren’t. Planning. On. Telling. Us. Anything.” Castiel slams his head on the table after every word he speaks.

                “Obviously I want something in return for the information that I have. I will tell you it but I have a price.”

                      “Jesus Christ, what do you want?” Dean rolls his eyes, not completely believing that he is in this current situation.

                  
                “What? You can’t be serious. You aren’t going to give him anything.” Chuck slams his hands on the table.

                       “Well it’s not like you know anything about this situation and I would like to know why someone or something sent a witch after the four kids I’m supposed to be taking care of.”

                Castiel shakes his head again, Dean knows that Cas is mad and he understands that but he doesn’t get the high level of the blue eyed angel’s annoyance. He glances at the entrance to the dining room to make sure that none of the boys have made their way downstairs.

                       “I’m listening for them.” Castiel informs him.

                “I would like custody of one of them.” The King of Hell states his demand of what he wants in exchange for his information.

                       Dean and Castiel’s heads snap to look at Crowley. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Chuck’s face starting to resemble a chili pepper. God opens his mouth at the same moment that Cas stands up.

                “Do not scream,” Cas points at Chuck, “because if you do and you scare the kids I will rip your tongue out of your mouth and staple it to your forehead. And you,” Cas moves his finger to point at Crowley, “must be out of your mind because if you get within seeing distance of any of those boys I will personally torture you for the rest of your life, which won’t be long. And you,” the finger now moves to point at Dean, “do you have anything to say.”

                      Dean shakes his head. “Nope, nope. You’ve got it covered. Continue.”

                “Normally I would make a comment about Dean being such a submissive bottom but I forgot how terrifying Castiel could be.” The brown eyed demon states nonchalantly.

                      Before Dean can even think of a response the sound of Castiel having slapped Crowley is echoing through the room. Chuck looks to Dean, startled, Dean is conflicted whether he should be impressed and laugh or nervous because of Castiel’s anger.

                 “Do you not realize the situation you are in?” Castiel asks Crowley, the angel’s hands planted firmly on the table as he looms over the other.

                       “I do believe you are in a far worse situation.”

                “Oh really, because if you honestly think you’re getting anything out of us in exchange for who the hell is after the boys than you’re far dumber than you look. If you don’t tell us than you’ll not only have myself after you but Dean and Sam as well along with God and whoever he decides to send after your worthless ass.”

                     “Do you know that you’re pretty attractive when you’re full of rage and also fairly intimating?”

                “Keep it in your fucking pants.” Dean growls at the same time that Cas punches the demon in the face.

                      Crowley groans as he lifts his head back up, blood pouring out of his now broken nose. The demon spits a mouthful of blood onto the used to be clean table. Dean scowls at the spot on the table.

                “Castiel, I think that you should take a step away and calm down.” Chuck interjects.

                         “I think that you’re going to be next to get a broken nose if you don’t keep your mouth shut.” Cas replies without taking his eyes away from Crowley.

                “I don’t know who you think you are to be talking to me that way-“

                      “I don’t think that you have any right to be acting holy and mighty.” Castiel cuts off his father.

                “Talk, now, Crowley.”

                        “You really have nothing to say?” Chuck as Dean.

                With a shrug he shakes his head. Castiel left hooks Crowley, the chair tips backward but the angel catches the back of the chair before it hits the ground. Dean hopes that this isn’t going to last long, because not only does he not think his temper will hold out but also because he does think he will have a heart attack due to the worry and stress. He doesn’t think he could get anymore stressed but then Gabriel’s cries start reverberating throughout the house. Dean hasn’t moved as fast as he is now in his life, he grabs the railing to the stairwell and practically lunches himself up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~

                      Castiel watches Dean run from the dining room. He looks back to the bleeding King of Hell and then his Father. Gabe’s crying intensifies, the angel’s pulse jumps so he makes a rapid decision.

                “Both of you stay here. Chuck I am, sadly, putting my trust in you to keep an eye on this shitbag.”

                     “I don’t know why you and Dean seem so frantic. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”

                Cas rolls his eyes as he starts moving quickly towards the exit. “Just stay here and don’t let him move.”

                     Castiel teleports to Gabriel’s room where Dean is already standing and holding a hysterical toddler. He doesn’t sense anything in the room but he does a once around the room just to double check, he doesn’t see anything that warrants any concern.

                “I don’t see anything out of place.” Cas comes up next to Dean and runs a hand through Gabriel’s silken hair.

                     “I didn’t see anything either. I don’t understand why he is so upset though. He’s not wet, he didn’t eat too long and he doesn’t have a fever.” Dean walks over to the rocking chair.

                The green eyed man changes the way he is holding the toddler, instead of keeping him seated upright he lays Gabriel across his lap and starts rubbing his back. It’s only worked about a third of the time but sometimes when Gabe gets immensely worked up, like his is now, laying him one his stomach gets him to calm down. Castiel rest his hand on the back of the toddlers head. He does a quick search around to see if anything major is wrong. He doesn’t feel anything wrong with the boy.

                     “He might have just woken up and been upset that he was alone.”

                It’s happened before, a lot. All of the boys are clingy in their own way but out of all of them Gabriel hates waking up by himself the most. Gabriel’s crying doesn’t ease up at all.

                     “Do you want me here?”

                “No, I’ve got this. You can go back down to the dining room and try to get Crowley to talk.”

                       “I will, after I check on the rest of the kids.”

~~~~~~~~

                “Okay! Okay! Bloody hell!” A bloodied Crowley shouts.

                      Castiel stops drawing the North Star on the demons chest with his Angel Blade. Chuck grimaces and averts his eyes, Dean doesn’t move from his position near the entrance. After two hours of Castiel beating the shit out of him it seems that Crowley is finally ready to talk. Chuck had put up a barrier around the dining room so that if Crowley got too loud the children wouldn’t be able to hear.

                “Just to be clear, I will be getting nothing in return for the information I know.” Crowley spits out another mouthful of blood, this time on the floor.   

                       “You’ll get to keep all of your fingers and toes.” Cas responds with ease.

                The demon sighs. “Heathens. Fine. I’m ready for this to end and to go home so that I drink four bottles of the finest Whiskey.”

                       “We’re all ready for you to leave, trust me.” Dean informs.

                “The witch goes by the name of Jenny Greenteeth. Or well at least that’s one of her names.”

                        “I’ve never heard of her.” Dean says while racking through his brain for any memories on the name.

                “That’s because she’s a witch from England. She’s known for luring children into bodies of water and then drowning them-“

                        “The closet body of water around here is over an hour away.” Chuck sits down then snaps his fingers together making a glass of Scotch appear.

                “If you would let me finish! Also I said that she is _known_ for that not that it’s the only thing she _does._ She’s a witch for fucks sake she doesn’t have many limits in what she can do. Anyway, she doesn’t even have anything personally against any of you or the Archangels, which I must say is surprising since it seems that all of your lists of enemies is longer than the Great Wall of bloody China”

                       “Then why is she trying to get them?”

                “Because like I had just sad you all have a long list of enemies, all of whom I’m sure would do anything to get back at you.” Crowley snarls.

                       “Do you know who hired her?” Cas asks not moving the Angel Blade from sight.

                “Of course I do. I never half ass a job.”

                       “Spit it out then.” Chuck huffs.

                “Funny for you to be the one to be giving such attitude when it’s your enemy.”

                        “Oh really?” Chuck’s tone is unbelieving.

                “Yes, do you remember Adam? As in Adam and Eve?”

                        “He’s lying,” Chuck stands and turns his back to the demon, “Adam and Eve have been dead for centuries. Besides Adam is harmless.”

                “As harmless as a group of rogue demons raising him and Eve from the dead and having them turn on you. Though I can’t imagine it would have been hard considering it took Lucifer no less than ten minutes to get them to turn on you.”

                       “This is ridiculous! It’s nonsense, it’s-“

                “Reality!” Crowley shouts and shakes the chair he’s sitting in trying to break the restraints.

                          “What’s his plan exactly?” Dean speaks up.

                “How should I bloody know?! It’s not like I found him and shook him down for answers!”

                        “Then how do you know anything about him!” Chuck whips around to glare daggers at the King of Hell.

                “Because demons are awful gossips and will tell you everything you want to know when they are dangling upside over twelve hellhounds.”

                          “How do you know that they weren’t lying? Also how do you not realize that a group of demons have gone rogue?”

                “How do you idly sit by and let the Apocalypse almost happen?”

                          Chuck closes his mouth with such force that his teeth clack together. Both Dean and Castiel look to God for an answer but the bearded embodiment says nothing. Chuck’s face has gone from total fury to nothing, his face is blank. Crowley is visibly proud of himself for getting the all-powerful being in front of him to shut his trap.

                “For everything that you and moose went through, squirrel, I do have to say that I am surprised you would do anything for him without having some answers as to why he sat around just watching your lives play through a miserable loop.”

                      “Who says that I didn’t get answers?”

                “Your facial expression when I brought up him sitting around while the Apocalypse nearly happened.”

                        “We’ve gotten everything we can from him, get him out of here.” Dean turns on his heal and heads up the steps.

                Dean goes through the list of names of people he has to call. Obviously Sammy is the first person he needs to talk to. He would like to think that Chuck would fix this problem, since the reason the problem even exists is because of him, but he has as much faith in Chuck as he does in 1971 Ford Pinto.

~~~~~~~~

                     “You’re going to fix this.” Castiel tells his father, now that Crowley is no longer in the house.

                “You do not give me orders Castiel.” Chuck snaps the bloody mess away.

                      “A witch is after your four oldest children and the reason she is after them is because of someone’s anger with you. It’s only right that you fix this.”

                “I’m did not say that I don’t want to stop this or that I want anyone after the Arch’s. Let me point out that I did not even know Adam was back, so do you have any suggestions as to how I find him and these demons that have a witch working for them.”

                      “You’re God aren’t you?”

                “One of many.” Chuck agrees.

                         “Then I’m sure you’ll find a way. Just like you’ll be able to find the door,” he turns to leave the room and go find Dean, “we will be in contact.”

                First Castiel checks all of the boys rooms again to make sure that all is well then he goes on the hunt for his boyfriends that he needs to have some words with. The angel finds the oldest Winchester in the office, Dean is sitting in the office chair turned towards the windows. It’s clear that Dean is talking to his brother and that both are mad if the cursing he’s hearing from both ends is anything to go by. Castiel rounds the desk and takes the cellphone from his boyfriend’s hand and presses the red button to end the call.

                       “What the actual fuck Castiel?” Dean’s eyes harden.

                “Would you like to stop calling people about major issues in our lives without consulting me first?”

                      “Are you saying that you think Sam shouldn’t help us with this?”

                “I’m saying that maybe you shouldn’t run off to call people for ‘help’ without talking to the other adult in the house. You can’t make ever decision by yourself.” He puts the man’s phone in his back pocket.

                     “I thought that you said you weren’t mad about me calling Crowley.” The green eyed man doesn’t bother to stand up which makes him look up at Cas and Cas look down on him.

                “I wasn’t mad no, but I wasn’t happy about it. You invited the literal King of Hell into our house. Our house that has four defenseless children in it! He didn’t know anything about them, about this whole thing,” Cas waves his arms around, “and now he does thanks to you!”

                       “Oh, pfft,” Dean stands up now and pushes the chair in, “Crowley isn’t going to do anything. He’s annoying and a pest sure but he’s not an idiot, he knows that if he tries anything he won’t stay alive very long.”

                “Did you blackout when he tried to negotiate Lucifer away from us?” The angel draws his eyebrows together as he stares Dean down.

                        “He was just trying to rile us up.”

                “For the love of- Dean,” he takes a breath and rubs his temples, “when you called Crowley did you even think of the repercussions?”

                       “Yes!”

                “Oh really!?”

                       “Yes I did! And you know what. You say that he didn’t already know about any of this,” Dean mimics the arm movements that Castiel had done earlier, “but if he didn’t then how would any demons know about it?”

                “I- I don’t know! But if he did somehow find out and then tell demons that just proves my point! It would also lead to question if anything he told us is true, since he said that rogue demons are behind all of this!”

                     Dean’s lips go into a thin line. The man puts his hands on his hips and looks away from the angel in front of him. Castiel doesn’t enjoy arguing with Dean, he thinks that it would happen a lot less if Dean would actually communicate. It’s a work in progress.

                “It’s the only type of lead we have with what’s going on.”

                       “Or nothing at all could be going on.” Cas mutters and shrugs.

                “You saw the scratch mark on the window sill! I showed it to you!” Dean’s head whips around at such a fast pace that Castiel is worried the man might have just given himself whiplash.

                        “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

                “What? It’s not like it was there before!”

                          “I’m not saying that it means nothing, it could mean something but it could also mean nothing.”

                “I can’t believe this is happening.” Dean shakes his head.

                       “Obviously we will look into it, Dean. Better safe than sorry, right? I don’t want you to be upset. That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just don’t think we should call Sam and get him and every other hunter you know searching into this and hunting something down that might not even be here. Chuck is going to look into, so can we at least wait a few days for word from him before we assemble an army?” He takes a step forward, he wants to comfort Dean but doesn’t know if Dean wants him anywhere near him at the moment.

                “Oh, yeah, because he’s always the most helpful.” Dean’s voice is starting to waver.

                         Castiel knows that Dean is passionate about this entire situation and that makes sense, he understands that Dean is worried about the boy’s safety. He was not expecting his significant other to get _upset_ about it though.

                “Just a few days. That’s all I’m asking. Like three days, after that if Chuck hasn’t found anything out than we do whatever you want.”

                         “Okay. Three days. That’s it.”

                “Just three days.” Cas nods in agreement.

                        Castiel takes another step toward Dean and reaches to try and takes the man’s hand in his own. Dean moves his hand out of reach.

                “Can I have my phone? I need to call Sammy back.”

                         The angel frowns but hands over the phone. He watches Dean leave the room. He’ll talk to Dean and try to resolve whatever is wrong but first he’s going to give the man some space and time to talk to his brother.

~~~~~~~~

                “No – no. Sam- Sammy. Listen to me. Finish your hunt in Jersey, Castiel has a plan and if it doesn’t work out I’ll be calling you in three days.”

                      “What the hell, Dean? Suddenly a witch trying to kill the Archangels isn’t first priority?”

                “Just worry about hunting down the clowns that are luring children into the woods. I’ll call you in three days.” Dean runs a hand down his face as he looks out the window onto the front yard.

                         “Okay, whatever you say. If I don’t get a call in three days then I’m heading out right away and you’ll see me on your doorstep.” He can hear the click of a shotgun being locked into place as Sammy talks.

                Dean laughs knowing that he would be saying the same thing to Sam if the roles were reversed. “Sounds good, Sammy.”

                        “Alright. Be safe.”

                “Always.”

                     Dean ends the call then places his cell on the coffee table. He thinks of everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours and shakes his head in disbelief. There’s not any doubt in his mind that something wrong is going on, that something is after the kids. This hunt is already the worst that he’s ever had to go through, for a multitude of reasons. Having to hunt something that’s attacking and killing innocent people, it’s rewarding, you know that you’re doing something good. He’s been on the other side of hunting, it is part of the job that monsters will personally come after you but to have something come after your children. Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel aren’t technically his and Castiel’s but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t become a family, he views those four quirky little boy’s as his and to know that something wants to hurt them, to kill them, it’s terrifying on a whole new level.

                So many of his fears are coming true. A monster wants his children dead, he couldn’t protect them enough for people to not find out about them. On top of that Castiel doesn’t believe there is anything wrong, the angel has put so much faith in his father that he doesn’t think it possible something awful could be happening right under their noses.

                      The patter of small bare feet on the wooden floor that’s in the foyer brings Dean’s attention to behind him and not his thousands of thoughts. He spins the recliner around to face the foyer. Raphael is standing in the doorway, he’s rubbing his eyes sleepily with one hand and is holding on of Dean’s shirts with the other.

                “What’s up, Thunder? Why are you up?” Dean can’t help but smile at the sight in front of him.

                         Raphael yawns and starts walking towards him. “Story.”

                “You woke up because you want to hear a story?” He asks with a laugh.

                          The four year old nods as he climbs onto Dean’s lap. Raphael curls up so that his head is on the man’s chest and the old worn out shirt is covering him like a small blanket.

                “What story do you want to hear?”

                         “A new one.”

                “A new one?”

                        Raphael hums as he nods. Dean starts rocking the recliner as he thinks of a story that he hasn’t told the young child yet. He decides that tonight he will make a story up.

                “What type of story are we in the mood for?”

                          “A fairytale.”

                Dean hums in thought. A fairytale doesn’t have to be about a Princess and a Prince. He decides to do a different type of fairytale. Dean smiles, he’s made up a handful of stories for Raph and it’s one of his favorite things to do with the four year old.

                        “There used to be a kingdom-“

                “Once upon a time, Daddy.” Raphael reminds the man.

                        “Oh right,” Dean nods as if he just remembered how to tell a story, “Once upon a time in A Kingdom called Chevrolet there lived a magician. The magician’s name was Sherman-“

                Raphael laughs and wiggles around to look up at Dean, “That’s not a magical name.”

                        “What? Says who?” Dean asks with a mock gasp.

                “It’s too silly! Magical names need to be strong.”

                         “Sherman is a strong name.”

                 Raphael shakes his head but giggles and settles back against Dean’s chest, ready to listen to the rest of the story.

~~~~~~~~

                      Castiel walks up to the third floor of the house, he sees that Raphael’s door is open which is shouldn’t be if the boy is sleeping. He looks into the room and sees Dean tucking the young angel back into bed. Dean turns the nightlight that’s on a timer back on, he turns to leave but stops for a second when he sees Castiel. The man walks past Cas without saying a word and goes into their bedroom. The angel closes Raph’s door then goes into his bedroom.

                “You okay?”

                       Dean doesn’t respond as he slips on one of his sleepshirts, he then looks at Cas through the dresser mirror.

                “No.”

                       “I know that you’re worried but-“

                “It’s more than that Castiel. You clearly don’t understand how I feel, stop acting like you do.”

                       “Then talk to me. Help me understand.”

                Dean turns around, he looks at the angel for half of a minute before running his right hand down his face while letting out a long breath.

                        “I don’t want anything bad to happen to them. I don’t want them to be in any type of danger ever, but lately that seems to be the only thing they are in. First some fucking monster is lurking around town, then I fuck up and Michael runs out of the house and now this shit,” The freckled man shakes his head, sorrow behind his eyes, “On top of that no thinks anything is happening. Which, fine, whatever, I expect Chuck to not believe but you.”

                Dean keeps his eyes trained on the wall, looking away from Castiel. The angel can feel the jumble of emotions flowing off of the man.

                      “It’s not that I don’t believe you Dean. It’s that I don’t trust Crowley. We can’t just believe anything he says because we want to have a lead. You say something is going on and something is wrong, and I do believe you and we are looking into it. We can’t put our faith in Crowley, when has that ever worked out?”

                “I guess in three day’s we’ll see how much trust we can put into him.” Dean replies with a shrug.

                     Cas sits on his side of the bed as Dean goes into the bathroom. He doesn’t want the man to be upset, he would never want him to be upset but he does understand now why Dean is so upset. The angel patiently waits for Dean to come back out of the bathroom.

                Dean walks out and over to the bed to pull down the covers, when he turns ready to leave the room and do his rounds around the house to make sure everything is locked up and the wards are in place still Cas grabs his wrist. Dean turns his head and glares at the angel, his look clearly saying ‘Let go’.

                        “You aren’t failing anyone Dean. You couldn’t have stopped any of the things that happened from happening. Life isn’t controllable. Chuck may be God but he isn’t the only God, he isn’t the only powerful force that makes things happen.”

                Dean doesn’t say anything he looks at Cas as if he is trying to figure out what the angel is saying to him.

                       “We’ll figure this out. The boys will be fine.”

                “How do you know that?” Dean licks his lips then bites down on his bottom lip.

                        “Because I know you and I know me and we aren’t going to let anything happen to them. We always figure cases out, we’ll figure this one out.” Cas gently tugs on Dean’s wrist in an effort to get him to sit down.

                “If anything happens to them..” Dean’s voice cuts off as he swallows the lump in his throat.

                         “Every parent in the world is scared of something awful happening to their kid-“

                “It’s so much more real for us, Cas.”

                         “I know. We also know how to protect them in a much better way than anyone else though.”

                “That’s true.’ Dean nods in agreement to what he was just told.

                          “We’ll be okay. They will be okay.” Castiel reassures.

                Dean lets out a breath. He leans forward and plants a soft kiss on the green eyed man’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to hear the story that Dean told Raphael comment and tell me! If I get enough interest I'll share it with you all :D   
> Love,  
> Mess


	14. Lessons in Parenting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I would just like to say I’m sorry for how weird chapter 13 looks on mobile. I didn’t know it looked like that  I thought I found a better way to indent the paragraphs but turns out I didn’t. I hope no one was bothered by it too much but I do think it looks stupid. I want to go back and fix it but I don’t think I’ll have the time for that. I am honestly very upset with how odd it looks. Again, I hope no one was too bothered by it. Needless to say I will be going back to the old way of indenting. Second I am sorry for such the long wait for the update, life's just been a bit crazy lately and I've also been reading a bunch of other stories. I hope the wait was worth it though and that you all enjoy this chapter. I think the next one is going to focus a lot on Dean and Cas. As always I hope to hear from you all <3  
> Love,  
> Mess

      Gabriel wakes up and twists around so that he is now on his back and not his stomach. It dark which lets the toddler know that he it’s not morning, the only light in the room is the soft glow that’s radiating off of his lollipop shaped night light. With a yawn he sits up and rubs his eyes. Dean always tells him that nighttime is when little boys should be sleeping but now that he’s awake Gabriel wants to _play_ not _sleep_.

         Using the bars of the crib he yanks himself up. With another yawn he sleepily looks around his room. Just as he lifts his leg up in an effort to escape his prison something moves across his window and catches his attention. Gabe puts his leg back down and moves to the end of his bed, which is closer to window. The toddler tilts his head curiously, maybe an owl is trying to get into his room so that they can be friends.

      Just as the hazel eyed boy is about try his escape again because he’s lost interest, two vibrant green glowing eyes show up in the window. The sight startles him and he falls backwards on his butt. He stares at the hypnotizing eyes not sure if he should be scared of them, his breathing picks up because he’s nervous. The two year old looks around the green eyes trying to find the head that the eyes belong to but he can’t see anything except for the glowing eyes.

          He’s decided that he doesn’t like the eyes and doesn’t want them staring at him any longer. Gabriel pulls himself up again, ready to shake the bars and get the attention of either Papa or Daddy. He doesn’t take his eyes off of the glowing eyes that haven’t blinked and are just staring at him. The boy gives the bars a shake, as soon as the crib makes a rattle sound a mouth appears below the eyes. He gives the bars another shake this one a little harder. The mouth slowly smiles then opens to show long pointed teeth.

      Gabriel screams then starts immediately crying, he doesn’t want this thing to get into his room and hurt him. He knows that whatever is staring at him does want to get him and hurt him. As soon as the door is flung open the green glowing light that was coming from the eyes disappears.

~~~~~~~~~

         Dean is trying to comfort a sobbing Gabriel who has been in rare form all morning. If Castiel or himself aren’t holding him than the toddler starts having a meltdown. Every. Single. Time. Without fail. Some meltdowns have been _much_ worse than others. Lucifer got fed up with the crying baby after the third round and has been hiding out in the playroom ever since. Raphael gets upset every time that Gabriel starts crying, so Michael has been sent on the mission to try and keep his younger brother occupied which Michael isn’t too happy about but is still trying.

      Castiel rushes into the kitchen looking completely flustered. He relieves Dean and starts pacing around the kitchen while bouncing the youngest in an effort to get him to calm down. Dean continues making lunch now that he doesn’t have a child sobbing and yanking on his ears.

         “What happened?” Dean asks while stirring the soup he was in the middle of making.

      “Lucifer and I had a disagreement.” The tone of the angel’s voice makes it clear that he doesn’t want to discuss it at the moment.

          “Hmm.” Dean hums in acknowledgement.

       “What’s wrong? Why so clingy baby?” Cas coos at the baby who has started to calm down, “You’re not sick so what’s wrong?”

            Dean smiles while he starts making grilled cheese. The memory of last night blossoms into his mind. Images of Castiel punching Crowley, Chuck’s screaming, Gabriel’s crying and his and Cas’ talk. He pauses in placing a piece of cheddar on the bread in front of him. Last night Gabriel started crying at midnight while the whole mess with Crowley was happening. Both he and Cas had pushed it off as Gabe not liking to wake up by himself but maybe that wasn’t it. The toddler has never been like this, he’s of course woke up in the middle of the night and has been clingy before but never in the way where he has an entire crying fit if he isn’t being held. On top of that it’s not only that Gabe wants to be held but he wants to be held by only Cas or Dean.

       Deciding to examine his thought further he drops the cheese onto the bread and walks over to Cas who has stopped pacing is now just bouncing the two year old on his hip. Gabe has stop screaming and is now only whimpering with a few tears still falling down his red cheeks, he has one hand twisted in the angel’s shirt and the other clutching onto Cas’ dark locks.

            “Hey, sugarbutt,” the toddler’s nickname gains his attention he hiccups and moves his hand from Cas’ shirt to fiercely grip Dean’s fingers, “are you scared?”

         Quickly the baby nods a louder whimper bubbles up. Castiel’s blue eyes flick to look at Dean, confusion and intrigue alight across his face.

             “Did you see something?”

         Since Gabe doesn’t talk much or use many words it’s always a guessing game with the blond boy. If anyone ever wants to know anything they always have to ask a million questions and they have to be _just_ the right questions to know what’s going on with the kid. Sometimes his brothers automatically know what’s up with the toddler but you can’t always rely on other children to know what’s wrong with another child.

             “Ya.” Gabe responds, voice watery.

       “Did you see a person?” Dean keeps his voice light, he doesn’t want to scare his boy even more than he already is.

            Gabe tilts his head, something he’s started doing to show that he‘s thinking. Slowly the toddler pulls his hand away from Dean’s fingers then points at his own mouth, teeth and eyes. Dean flicks his eyes to Castiel long enough to see the angel’s eyes widen.

      “You saw eyes, a mouth and teeth _in_ your room.”

           Gabe shakes his head and sniffles once more. “Out.”

        “Outside of your room?” Cas asks to make sure that they are understanding correctly.

             With a small pout Gabriel nods. The toddler snuggles against Cas’ chest and turns his head away to show that he’s done talking. In less than a minute and a half the baby is snoring, exhausted after his screaming and crying fit. Dean sighs in a way that makes it look like he’s just deflated. As the green eyed man goes back to making the sandwiches and Castiel takes a seat at on the middle stool at the island counter.

           “I’ll look around the back of the house and the perimeter of the house. Something’s wrong but we can’t do anything if we don’t know anything. I’ll also call Chuck.” Castiel informs Dean.

              “But we can’t call Sam.”

         “We don’t even know what’s going on. All we’ll have is another confused person involved.”

                “It’s a fresh pair of eyes. That’s never a bad thing. You know that he can help us.” Dean doesn’t understand why Cas is so strongly against Sam getting involved.

            “I’m not saying that he can’t help us, let me just check things out first so that we can tell him everything we know. Instead of just calling him and saying ‘something’s after us come help’.”

                   With a small sigh he nods, understanding where the other is coming from. He finishes making lunch then heads out of the kitchen to collect the other grumpy children.

~~~~~~~~  

               Turns out that the back of the house has a bunch of claw marks on it, as if something climbed up the house to look into the windows. Cas had called Chuck and got no reply. After calling for the tenth time he received a message from an angel saying that Chuck was too busy to talk to him at the moment. Castiel had rolled his eyes and made the decision to take matters into their own hands, waiting around for Chuck is going to become too much of a risk and the lives of four children isn’t something he wants to gamble with. So he told Dean to call Sam and have the other Winchester get here as soon as possible.

             While Dean gets to talk to his brother and tell him everything that’s happened since yesterday, Castiel gets to contemplate all of his life choices that lead up to this moment of having a screaming two year old clinging to his neck and try to stop a screaming four year old from kicking a screaming six year old in the face and a screaming eight year old who he’s fairly certain is just screaming to scream.

                He can feel his patience wearing thin as well as his ear drums. A headache is forming in the back of his head, it feels like someone is slowly twisting a screw into the area where his neck and his head meet. If you’ve never tried to break up two fighting kids while having another one hanging off of you, it’s the equivalent of trying to get a rhino to stop attacking a lion while a boa constrictor tries to eat you.

         Just as the angel gets a grip on both Raphael and Lucifer’s arms so he can pull them apart, Gabriel shrieks directly into his left ear. Cas lets go of both boys from the shock of having possibly the loudest sound ever screamed right next to his ear. Lucifer takes the opportunity to lunge forward and pin Raphael to the ground. Raphael kicks his leg out which connects with Lucifer’s nose, the freckled boy falls backwards with a wail and blood pouring out of his nose.  

               Dean walks into the living room as actual hell breaks loose. Castiel shoves Gabe into the man’s arms then lifts the hysterical six year old of the ground.

         “Deal with your children.” He says with a huff before ascending the staircase to go into the bathroom so he can clean up Lucifer.

               “I didn’t mean to!” Raphael shouts.

          “Is Lucifer going to be okay?” Michael cries.

                Dean makes a noise that shows his utter confusion.

~~~~~~~~

          Raphael didn’t break Lucifer’s nose, thankfully. There was a lot of blood which freaked out both the blond and the angel. He takes a breath and tries to gather himself. Castiel knows that when he takes Lucifer back downstairs that he will have to stay and help Dean discipline the children but really he just wants to put Lucifer in the living give Dean a thumbs up and get a drink.

             He takes the boys hand and leads him out of the bathroom. They walk into a totally silent living room. Raphael and Michael are both sitting on the couch. Raphael is clutching onto Earl and Michael is biting his nails. Gabriel is sitting next to Dean’s feet and playing with the shoelaces to Dean’s boot. Without being told to Lucifer walks over to the couch and sits down on the far right side, he crosses his arms over his chest.

          “What is going on with you all today?”

              All three boys start talking at once, each one rambling one about something different. Gabriel tries to join in but it mostly all comes out as baby babbling.

            “Okay, Okay!” Dean’s gruff voice gets the three to stop talking while Gabe continues, Lucifer glares at the youngest, “one at a time. Raphael why did you-“ The man looks to Castiel, not knowing exactly what Raphael did.

                  “Kick Lucifer in the nose.” Castiel supplies.

              Dean raises an eyebrow at Cas then turns to look at Raphael.

                 “It was an asident!”

                    “Accident.” Michael mumbles the correction.

                  “I didn’t mean to do it. He was being a jerk, alllll day! Then he jumped on me and held me down.”

                 Dean turns to look at Lucifer who has his eyes trained on the blank television. Michael starts nervously shaking his left leg, eyes looking back and forth between the two adults.

                  “Why would you do that Lucifer?” Dean’s his voice even.

           “He’s the one that made me bleed! Why is it always my fault for everything? Why am I the one always in trouble and being punished?” Lucifer shouts indignantly and stands on the couch.

             “Who said you were in trouble or being punished?” Castiel intervenes.

               Lucifer turns his sharp angry eyes to Cas. “That’s what this is isn’t it? That’s why we’re sitting here. But it doesn’t matter what Raphael or Michael did because they never get in trouble! They can _never_ do anything wrong! It’s always me! Just me! I’m the only bad one!”

                 “Stop it.” Michael shakes his head.

              “Shut up, Michael!”

                    “Lucifer-“

               “No,” Lucifer’s shout cuts Dean off, “I’m sick of this! I’m always pushed around and blamed! It’s not fair! Everyone else gets attention all the time and I just get the timeout step! Whenever they cry they get whatever they want! But I knock something over and I’m punished!”

                   Dean takes a breath ready to retort but Castiel takes the man’s hand, a silent way to tell him to not say anything yet, Dean closes his mouth and lets Castiel respond.

                “Lucifer, is crying and breaking something mean the same to you?” Castiel’s eyes are soft as he looks at the worked up little boy.

                     “Yeah!”

                “Do you think your brothers cry to get either Dean or mines attention?”

                       “Why wouldn’t they? There’s four of us and two of you.” Lucifer states like it’s obvious that the other boys’ would only cry for attention.

                   “When you cry is it always for attention?”

                “N-no.” The freckled boy hesitantly answers.

                      “Then why would that be why they cry?”

                   “Maybe that’s not why they _always_ do it.” Lucifer mutters now looking down at his feet.

                      Castiel sits on the couch next to the boy and pulls him onto his lap to make sure he has his attention. “Lucifer it’s okay to want our attention but it’s not okay to act out so that you get our attention, because when you do first of all you don’t get the attention you want and second of all you do something that isn’t good.”      

                  “You can always tell us how you’re feeling, Luci. If you need to have some special time with either or both of us all you have to do is tell us. That goes for all of you.” Dean sits next to Castiel on the couch, with Gabriel sitting on his lap, and Michael moves over to be closer.

                     “We’re not in trouble?” Raphael asks his eyes wide.

                 “You’re not in trouble, no, but I think everyone needs a break today.”

                        “Time out.” Lucifer deflates against Castiel’s chest.

                    “Time out isn’t a bad thing. It gives you some time to gather yourself and take a break from what’s upsetting you.” Cas explains to the six year old who clearly disagrees if the face he’s making is anything to go by.

~~~~~~~~

       There’s something unsettling about the house being silent, first of all because the house has been a warzone for a total of almost forty eight hours and second of all having four boys means the house is almost never silent. It makes Dean fell slightly on edge. He knows that it’s because the oldest boys are in their rooms having a time out, Castiel had taken Raphael and Lucifer aside and had a talk with them. After that all of the boys went to their own rooms to either have a nap or just relax for thirty minutes.

        Gabriel seems to have calmed down as well, he’s happily playing in his play pen in the living room as Dean checks his e-mail. Cas walks into the room and collapses on the couch next to him, the angel lays his head on Dean’s lap.

      “Comfortable?” He chuckles as he types a reply to an old fellow hunter.

          The angel hums in response. Dean can practically feel the exhaustion flowing off of his boyfriend. He runs a hand through Cas’ hair then closes his laptop and places it on the coffee table. Within seconds Castiel is snoring, the new sound draws Gabe’s attention the toddler stares and Cas for almost a minute before going back to stacking his blocks in a precise wobbly tower. Dean can’t help but watch the peaceful sleeping angel. The sound of Castiel’s phone receiving a text pulls Dean out of his thoughts and eyes away from the handsome angel. Dean gently pulls the cell out of Cas’ pocket. The text is from Isaac, one of Jaxlyn’s dads.

      **Isaac: Just a reminder that the party starts at 5:30**

“Shit.” Dean mumbles to himself.

      He completely forgot about the dinner party at the Bellerose house tonight. Apparently so had Cas because he hasn’t brought it up at all in the past three days. The green eyed man groans, he knows that Cas will want to still go because it would be _rude_ to cancel last minute. The only reason he doesn’t want to be rude is because it’s Michael’s friends parents and they do seem nice. At the same time he doesn’t want to leave the kids alone. He can already imagine how well it’s going to go over with telling the kids that they will have a babysitter tonight.

          Since they use angels as babysitters, Dean’s anxiety lessens. Not enough for him to be completely okay leaving the kids but enough for him to feel comfortable leaving. Another groan bubbles up from his chest as he thinks about the boys are going to have. They boys have only had a babysitter twice, once when they were already asleep and once with Sam watching them because Castiel had to pick him up from the hospital. Out of all the days to tell the kids something that will cause a tantrum.

~~~~~~~~

      Lucifer rubs his right eye as he stumbles down the stairs. Dean and Cas are in the entrance whispering but stop once he hops down from the last step.

        “What’s up, Sunshine?” Cas with and easy smile.

     The nickname makes him smile in return. His eyes still half lidded with sleep he lifts his arms up so that the blue eyed man picks him up. Castiel lifts him up and settles him on his hip. Lucifer rests his head on his parental figures shoulder and curls into him. His stomach twists itself into knots at the thought of the question he wants to ask.

        For a while now he’s wanted to call the two men what Raphael calls them. Every time he thinks about it he gets a flood of different emotions. He knows that Michael wouldn’t necessarily be happy about it, he doesn’t know how Cas and Dean would feel about it. He wants to call them Papa and Daddy though because they are his Dads, they take care of him and love him and that’s what Dads do.

     He shoves his face into the crook of Castiel’s neck and asks the question that’s been bouncing around his head for the past week.

      “I can’t understand you when you hide your face.” Castiel says, his voice soft.

   Lucifer moves his head slightly so that he isn’t talking directly into Cas’ neck. “Can I call you both what Raphael calls you?” He keeps his eyes closed out of fear.

      There’s not an immediate response. The silence stretches and his skin starts to itch. His breath hitches as he thinks about them rejecting him. Chuck has already pushed him away, the bearded man made it clear that he wants nothing to do with Lucifer, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to live knowing no one wants him.

    “You want to call us Papa and Daddy?” Dean’s voice sounds like he’s moved closer.

          Lucifer squeezes his eyes shut even tighter as he nods. Castiel rubs his back in large circles. Dean runs a hand through his hair and then rubs his calloused thumb against his cheek. They always give comfort so easily. When he and his brothers had first moved in he thought it was a trick and was always waiting for the ball to drop, but it never has. Dean and Castiel are better than Chuck is every way, he wants them to be his parents not the other man.  

      “Can you open your eyes?” Dean’s voice is soft, it makes some of the knots untwist.

             Slowly he cracks his eyes open, he looks up to see both men smiling at him.

        “If you want to call us that you can.” Castiel gives a small encouraging nod.

              “You won’t be mad?”

         “Why would we be mad? Luci, we love that Raphael calls us Papa and Daddy but were not going to make the rest of you boys call us that if you don’t want to. It’s up to each of you if you would rather call us Cas and Dean or Papa and Daddy.” Dean presses a kiss to his forehead.

               Lucifer grins at his Daddy and leans forward wrapping his arms around his neck to give Daddy a hug. Once he’s given Daddy a good hug he gives Papa one too. He’s wanted to call his adoptive parents Daddy and Papa but wasn’t brave enough. With a smile and feeling happier than he has all day he wiggles out of Papa’s arms.

         “Where’s Gabey?” All of the sleepiness has left his body and now he wants to play.

                “In the living room in his playpen.” Daddy tells him while pointing to the living room.

          He skips into the living room ready to play with his baby brother.

~~~~~~~~

                “W-what?!” Lucifer gasps.

        “Nooooo.” Raphael whines and shakes his head.

             “We don’t even know them. How can you trust them with us?” Michael argues.

           Gabriel doesn’t care much about what’s going on. He heaves himself up using the coffee table. A colorful truck catches his attention but when he tries to shove it in his mouth, curious if it tastes like candy, Papa reaches down and swiftly takes the orange truck away. 

              “Paaaaa.” He whines and wiggles his fingers in an effort to convince Papa to give the truck back. Instead he’s given a pacifier which he throws back at Papa.

           “Michael, you know that we would never have people we don’t trust watch you. They’re Castiel’s relatives.” Daddy explains.

              Lucifer side glances at Michael, Gabe doesn’t give the action any thought too focused on trying to climb Papa’s leg so he can rescue the orange truck. He can’t get a good grip on the slippery pants though, he tries to lift himself up but continues to fall back down on his butt.

        “Why can’t we go?” Lucifer challenges.

               “It’s just adults. Jaxlyn and his siblings aren’t going to be there either. It’s almost your bedtime anyway” The truck thief explains.

          Michael lets out a heavy breath then leans back against the couch with his arms crossed and an angry pout directed at the floor. Lucifer kicks a foot out but doesn’t say anything. It seems as if his oldest brothers have accepted their fate of having babysitters tonight. Gabriel doesn’t care about other people watching them tonight, he loves meeting new people.

       “They’re not mean?” Raphy asks sounding slightly scared.

            “No, they’re very nice.” Papa confirms.

       “Pa!” He screams and stomps his foot, the movement makes him lose balance and fall once again but he quickly recovers and pushes himself up.

            “Gabriel,” Papa _finally_ turns his attention to him and looks down, “we don’t scream.”

       Lucifer snorts.

             “Mine.” Gabe points to the truck.

         “Are you going to put it in your mouth?”

              Gabriel shakes his head, his wavy hair moves around wildly because of the movement. With a suspicious look Papa hands the truck back to him. As soon as the plastic touches his hand he shoves the truck into his mouth. Lucifer howls with laughter, clutching his stomach. Gabe smiles even as the toy is taken away from him, Luci has the best laugh.

~~~~~~~~

          “And Raphael does get a story before bed but he’ll try get you to keep reading stories, don’t let him convince you. Only one story.” Dean explains to Camael and Balthazar.

          Camael smiles as Dean continues to ramble on about what to do and hot to take care of the four boys who they still haven’t met. Her eyes are a soft brown they match her skin, her hair is beautiful and extremely curly. Balthazar has been rolling gray eyes for the past thirteen minutes.

       Just as he’s about to stress the importance of not giving Gabriel too many sweets Balthazar cuts in. “Are we actually going to come inside the house or just stand on your porch all night?”

            Finally taking a breath Dean sends a glare to the blond. He knows he might be going overboard, he just wants to come back to a house and not shambles and fire trucks.

         “Don’t be rude, ‘Zar.” Camael reprimands.

              “Fairly certain it’s rude to leave your guests out on a deck all bloody night.” Balthazar complains under his breath.

           “Alright, come on.” Dean opens the front door and leads them into the living room.

                  “Hello boys!” Balthazar walks ahead of Dean and Camael.

            “I know you don’t like him all too much, but he’s always had a lot of love for them.” Camael reassures the green eyed man before she walks ahead and enters the living in a much quieter fashion.

                 After Balthazar and Camael met the boys, Dean and Cas don’t stay long after that. Mostly because Castiel physically pulled Dean away. As Cas drives down the street Dean nervously twiddles his thumbs, he knows that Raphael, Gabriel and Lucifer will be fine but Michael is another story the oldest boy doesn’t do well around strangers.

           “They’ll be fine. Balthazar has always gotten along with all of them.”

                  “That was when they were older and remembered him.” He points out to the angel next to him.

           Cas waves the statement away, showing how unconcerned he is about the situation.

~~~~~~~~

                The door swings open to reveal a grinning Isaac. The brown eyed man steps aside and motions for them to come in. The sound of people talking and laughing fills the air.

            “As you can hear some people are already here, but not everyone yet.” Isaac explains as he leads them through the living room and into the kitchen. No one is in the kitchen, Dean is confused for only a moment until he notices the sliding door that leads out to the deck. The glass door is open, leaving only the sliding screen door as a barrier.

            Isaac pushes open the screen door, he lets Cas and Dean go out onto the deck first before following behind them and sliding the screen door shut. There’s lanterns illuminating the area, deck chairs are arranged around a glass table that has wine and snacks on it. There’s five people already sitting on the deck.

        “Everyone this is, Castiel and Dean.”

             The man sitting closest to the door stands up, he has chestnut brown eyes and hair to match his beard is a shade lighter. He sticks his hand out and with an easy smile introduces himself. “Clint, Isaac’s husband. It’s nice to officially meet you both.”

          Dean than Cas shake the standing man’s hand. Clint motions to the two empty seats on his left then sits himself down, Isaac sitting on his husband’s right. Castiel sits directly next to Clint and Dean takes the seat next to a white haired man.

              “Isaac was telling us how nice you two are. I’m Lauren and this is my wife Katie.” One of the women sitting across from herself and her wife who is taking a sip of wine.

        Lauren has brown hair with purple streaks throughout it and Katie has a nose ring, obviously trying to be the fun and cool parents. Dean can’t say that those types of parents are his favorite but he isn’t going to judge the two women off of their appearances slowly.

             “Kurt.” The white haired man stiffly shakes Dean’s hand.

        “Cindy.” The women sitting directly next to Kurt speaks up, she looks considerably younger than Kurt and exceptionally happier. 

             “Jeff and Mark are the only ones not here yet.” Isaac informs the new pair.

~~~~~~~~

         “Oh, come on Kurt!” Jeff sighs heavily and leans back in his chair, “Stop acting like your kids are perfect angels.”

              Mark leisurely takes a sip of his wine, letting his husband go at it with the white haired father. The night had being going well, then Clint brought up Jaxlyn and his adoration of Michael. For a few minutes the conversation focused on Michael and Jaxlyn’s obvious crushes on each other. The topic quickly switched to everyone’s children, the parents talking about some of the things their kids do that drive them crazy. Mark had laughed and waved a hand exclaiming ‘Jess and Addison are terrors’. Kurt rolled his eyes and told the shorter man that it’s because they don’t know how to discipline. Then the battle started.

        “It’s not my fault that you think well behaved children makes them angels.” Kurt retorts.

              “Let’s not get into this again. We all have different parenting styles, can we please respect that.” Katie cuts into the quarrel trying to defuse the rising tension.

        “Yes! Kurt, Jeff, we know your feelings. Now is not the time.” Isaac backs Katie while Clint rests his head on his hand looking bored at the situation happening in front of them.

              “Kurt is incredibly old school.” Clint tells Dean and Cas in a low voice.

        “No, no. I’m sick of sitting around and hearing Kurt praise about the perks of beating kids-“

              “Hey!” Kurt slaps his hand on the then points a sausage link finger at the man across from him, “I’ve never beat any of my children! You better check yourself, and watch the shit that comes out of your mouth before it gets you in trouble!”

      “You’re going to sit there with a straight face and tell me that you’ve never raised a hand to your delinquent kids?”

         “You’re as stupid as you are ugly. I know it’s hard for you to wrap your mind around it but spanking isn’t the same as hitting.”

       “Take a step back.” Mark growls, eyes hard as he stares at Kurt.

            Castiel looks at Dean, both had been keeping the quite the entire time but now Cas can practically feel the words coming out of Dean’s mouth before they do.

        “You spank your kids?” Dean asks, using the same voice that he would use when investigating someone.

             “Yeah and from what I hear your kids could use a harder hand in their life.”

       As Dean sits up straighter, Cas places a hand on his significant other’s knee. He doesn’t agree with what Kurt is saying but he’s not going to let someone else’s rude opinion upset him. Dean is another story though and he can respect that but he isn’t going to let Dean get into a physical fight, which seems like it’s going to happen if Jeff or Kurt don’t relax.

         “Excuse me?”

    “From what you were saying it sounds like your boys like to have tantrums to try and get what they want. You need to let them know that you’re the boss, you’re in charge not them.”

       Cas can feel the rage rush through Dean’s entire being.

   “You have no right,” Dean takes a breath and clenches his right hand into a fist, “you don’t even know my children, you don’t have any goddamn idea what they’ve been through.”

        Dean’s words brings Lucifer’s face into the angel’s mind. The first two weeks that Lucifer was with them the boy flinched at almost every move Dean or he made. Lucifer was always waiting for one of the adults to turn around and smack him.

     “They aren’t our property, they’re our responsibility to take care of.” Castiel adds, not only stating his opinion but backing up his boyfriend.

         “Let me guess. Both of you had easy going parents, kinda like Lauren and Katie over there,” the women roll their eyes and snort at being brought into the squabble, “they let you decide when you did something wrong and let you decide what your punishment would be.”

     Dean leans forward, Cas tightens his grip on the man’s knee. “Your parents ever spank you?”

         “No.”

     “So you have no idea what it’s like to be on the opposite side of what you dish out.” The green eyed man deadpans.

         Kurt doesn’t respond instead he looks away. Jeff looks between the two men while his husband refills his own glass. Katie chews on her thumb nail as Lauren eyes Cindy. Clint sits up straighter and Isaac moves forward in his seat, looking ready to spring up at any moment.

    “Yeah, well I do know what it’s like to be on the other side. You’re not doing your kids any fucking favors.” Dean stands up with such force that the chair topples backwards.

         Castiel catches the chair before it hits the wood. As he follows the freckled man into the house he can hear Clint ripping Kurt a new one. He gets to the front door, Isaac behind him. Dean is standing with his hand on the knob, practically breathing flames.

     “I’m truly sorry for what happened. Kurt is intense and always vocal about his thoughts on things. The only reason we ever invite him is because we all like Cindy. I’m sorry.”

         “It’s not your fault, Isaac. I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I just can’t stay and be around him.”

      “You’re fine,” Isaac waves off Dean’s apology, “I hope that this won’t stop you two from wanting to get together again. Obviously without Kurt.”

         “Doesn’t change anything. You and Clint are great.” Castiel reassures the kind man.

     Isaac says a quick goodbye to the pair before dismissing himself, saying that he needs to make sure Jeff and Kurt are no longer going at it.

~~~~~~~~

        The entire ride home Dean fumes and curses. Castiel does his best to calm the man down but Dean hasn’t gotten himself so worked up that the only way he is going to relax is once he’s gotten everything out of his system. Castiel pulls into the driveway and turns the engine off.

     “I need a minute.” Dean states as he closes his eyes and leans his head back against the headrest.

         “I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

     Dean runs a hand down the side of his face and lets out a breath. “I’m sure you can guess what it is that I would talk about.”

        “Me guessing isn’t going to make you feel better. It’s not going to get anything off of your chest.” The angel responds and takes his boyfriends hand in his own, he presses a kiss to the rough knuckles.

     Dean closes his eyes and nods. After another minute the man opens his eyes, he leans over and gives the angel a slow kiss. The kiss makes all of Castiel’s body tingle. It comes to an end too soon for Cas’ liking.

        “I just want to see the boys.” Dean states, pushing the door open.

    He follows the man to the front door. The scene they walk into is something that Cas was not expecting. Gabriel is running around in only his diaper screaming his head off and Balthazar is chasing the toddler around, Raphael is sleeping on the steps, Michael is yelling at Camael and Lucifer is sitting next to Raphael watching everything with intrigue.

        Dean closes the door with enough force to gain everyone’s attention. Raphael stirs but doesn’t wake up. Michael’s mouth snaps closed as he stares at his parental figures, Camael lets out a sigh of relief. Lucifer waves at the pair, Balthazar walks into the foyer from the dining room holding a wiggling Gabe.

   “What is going on?” Cas voices the question that both him and the man were thinking.

       “No need to worry, we have everything under control.” Balthazar’s smile disappears when he gets a finger to the eye.

     “Looks like it,” Dean’s sarcasm lethal, “Michael go put your pajamas on.”

          “But-“

      “Michael.” Castiel doesn’t let the oldest start his argument.

           With a huff the blue eyed boy starts stomping up the stairs, Dean and Castiel let it slide already knowing they will have to talk to him later.

      “Lucifer.” Dean nods his head telling the blond to follow his brother.

          Lucifer nods and tries to lift Raphael up. Castiel takes Lucifer’s hand and lift the sleeping four year old up, he leads the hazel eyed boy up the stairs leaving Dean with the two angel’s and Gabe. The trio is only half way up the staircase when Balthazar starts spewing excuses.

~~~~~~~~

     It took forty five minutes and six years off of Dean’s life but with the combined effort of Cas and himself they finally got Gabriel to go to sleep. When they went to Michael’s room the boy was already asleep, leaving the conversation to be had for tomorrow. Lucifer had crawled into bed with Raphael and refused to leave and demanded that he be able to sleep with his little brother for the night, seeing nothing wrong with the demand Cas and Dean let it go.

         Once all the boys were in a bed and sleeping the pair went back downstairs to hear what the hell happened. Camael is picking up the toys that are strewn across the living room floor. Balthazar is lounging on the couch sipping on a beer.

     “Castiel, I’m so sorry about this. Everything was going fine until _Balthazar_ gave Gabe a chocolate bar.” Camael shoots her brother a withering glare. 

          “Not true, it was after the third sweet that he went nuts.”

     “Why would you- doesn’t even- how?” Dean stops his nonsensical stuttering and looks to Castiel for help.

          “We were keeping him away from extremely sugary things,” Castiel’s tone unamused, “let’s just continue with what else happened.”

        “Michael freaked out when Gabe hit his sugar high, he wouldn’t stop yelling at us to call you both. Lucifer tried to get Michael to calm down but Michael wouldn’t listen to anything anyone was saying, so Lucifer gave up and watched everything unfold and kept Raphael at his side until Raphael fell asleep.” Camael explains, depositing the toys into the toy chest.       

              “Oh, also,” Balthazar snaps his fingers, a child sized Impala appears in the living room a giant red bow on the hood and note attached, “this was delivered.”

         Dean snatches the note off the hood, annoyance radiating off of him. What the letter says turns his annoyance into rage.

_Dear Squirrel and Giraffe,_

_I hope the kiddies enjoy their new toy. Send my love to them and let them know there will be more gifts from Uncle Crowley._

         Dean shoves the note to Cas so that the angel can read the contents of it. He doesn’t think that he can handle this on top of everything else going on in his life. Having to raise four boys is a challenge on it’s on but having a supernatural entity after his boys is a feat he already has trouble coping with through onto the mess that he is supposed to start working in less than two weeks and not have the kids in his sight for eight hours day, it’s one of hardest things he’s had to deal with. Now he has the King of Hell pestering him and trying to intrude on their life. To top it all off his inner demons have come out to join the party. It’s like someone is just piling up shit, seeing how much he can take before he breaks.

           Castiel sighs and rolls his eyes. Dean shakes his head pointedly deciding that he is not dealing with this right now. There’s too many thoughts crashing around inside his head to even be able to think of one thought let alone form a coherent sentence to discuss what to do. He leaves the room and goes to the kitchen. As he walks away he can hear Cas telling Balthazar to get rid of the toy car and thanking Camael for watching the boys.

        The man takes a seat at the island, head resting in his hands. There’s too many thoughts, all of them rushing through his mind. He tries to settle on one thought so that he can handle at least one issue. Squeezing his eyes shut he manages to grab hold onto one thought.

_He’s scared._

    That’s what decides to stick. The word one word starts to play on repeat. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. So fucking _scared._ He scared of something happening to the boys. He’s scared of failing them. He’s scared of turning into his father. He’s scared of losing Castiel once the angel realizes how much better his life would be without having Dean in it.

        “I’m staying right here.” Castiel sits on the stool next to him.

     The angel wraps his arms around the distraught man and presses his lips to Dean’s temple. Dean turns his head to hide his face in the crook of Cas’ neck. He can’t help the few tears that escape and land on the angel’s warm skin.

         “It’s okay,” Cas runs a hand down Dean’s back, “we’re okay.” He kisses the top of the man’s head.

    Dean wants to believe what Cas says. With all of his heart he wants to believe the tempting words but the thousands of possibilities of things going wrong make doubt stronger than faith. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend and clutches onto the blue eyed angel’s shirt, the few stray tears turning into a constant stream. Castiel continues to talk as Dean silently cries on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am working on Sherman the magician story. I don't know when I will posting it, I'm sorry for the wait for that as well. Sometimes balancing things out is hard and I'm not very good at time management.   
> Love again,   
> Mess


	15. The Archangel Protection Squad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my amazing readers! I know that for college students finals are coming and for high school students you may have midterms, so hopefully my story is a little brightness in all your stress<3 As always I hope you enjoy this update and I love hearing from you guys so comments, kudos and bookmarks are loved. Check out the note at the end and now get to reading<3  
> Love,  
> Mess

Castiel wakes up to the sound of incessant knocking. With a groan he rolls over and looks at the alarm clock on Dean’s side of the bed. The blaring red numbers stare back at him and let him know that it’s 5:06 in the goddamn morning. Normally the angel wouldn’t care about being up this early but having four boys would make anyone want to get more sleep, so Cas has been sleeping more. The knocking increases and he jolts out of bed ready to kick this person’s ass if the now banging wakes one of the children up.

         He flings the front door open ready to wring someone’s neck. The only thought that comes to mind as he stares at the being in front of him is ‘of course this would happen when Dean’s not home’. A demon who looks much too perky for the current time is standing in front of him.

     “I bring gifts from Crowley.” The demon smiles and lifts up a basket of muffins that she had been hiding behind her back.

         “I don’t have the patience for this.” The angel sighs as he closes the door.

     A foot blocks him from closing the door all the way. He contemplates all of the ways to get the foot out of the way. He could cut it off of the body, disintegrate the entire being, or rip the demons leg off and then send it to Crowley. Cas opens the door enough so that he can glare at the demon.

        “Leave before I destroy you.”

     “Oh I would love to! Unfortunately Crowley gave me specific instructions to personally hand you all of the gifts and to not go back to Hell until I do.” She smiles and tries to nudge the door open even more with her foot.

         “Tell Crowley to go fuck himself.” Cas tries to close the door again to no avail.

     “I’ll be sure to do so when I see him but I can’t until you take what I have.”

          “I don’t want anything.” Cas growls.

      For the past week, ever since the child sized Impala had showed up at the front door, Crowley has sent numerous gifts. Each time Dean throws a fit and threatens to rip the King Demons head off of his body, Castiel has also grown tired of the new routine. He hopes that it stops before Samuel arrives because he doesn’t particularly want to deal with two ranting and raving Winchesters, one is plenty. Technically Sam should be here by now but the younger Winchester had gotten called in to help with another hunt that has taken longer than planned. It’s not much of a problem that Sam is late, there hasn’t been any odd activity around the house since Gabe had woken up screaming other than Crowley’s persistent flow of gifts.

          “Please just take them.” The demon pleads.

     Castiel wishes that he had brought his angel blade downstairs with him. As he dreams of the silver blade he comes to the startling realization that a demon has never personally delivered anything yet, a demon shouldn’t even be able to get within sniffing distance of the house let alone onto the front porch. There’s clearly more to be concerned about than he originally thought. It seems that there are powerful forces working against the ones protecting the property.

        “How are you here?” He asks the demon who is still smiling.

     “That is classified information.”

          “Classified?” Castiel balks and swings the door open, “this is my home.”

      He doesn’t give the demon anytime to respond to what was just said, instead he juts his hand out and places it against the demons forehead. Instantly the demon is killed and the body drops onto the deck. With a scowl he moves the body into the living room and starts making some calls, one of those calls not being to Dean. It’s Dean’s first day at work and he doesn’t need to be bothered with something that Cas can handle by himself, or with some other angel’s.

~~~~~~~~~

          “Up!” Gabe demands for the umpteenth time.

      Sam looks down at the pouting toddler but doesn’t stop his stirring of mac and cheese. “Gabriel I cannot pick you up right now.” His eyes look over to the laptop that he has placed next to the stove.

        Gabe huffs and stomps one of his little feet to show his dislike for what Sam said. He ruffles the toddler’s hair to try to appease the young one before replying to an e-mail. Lucifer and Raphael come barreling into the kitchen, they run around the island a few times and Sam tells them to stop which they don’t, then they barrel out of the kitchen and almost knock over the highchair on the way out.

     Cas and Dean’s house is like walking into another dimension, and while it’s amazing he’s more than happy that he’s not the one raising four kids. He’ll always be around to help though and it seems like he couldn’t have come at a better moment. When he showed up Castiel was trying to catch a naked Gabe and Michael was trying to get gum out of Raphael’s hair while Lucifer complained that his lamb ended up in the toilet.

         Now Castiel is calling about a million people, trying to get in contact with Chuck and trying to get half a dozen angels in line to go hunt down Crowley. Gabriel whines to let Sam know that he is still here then dramatically falls backwards and kicks his legs around. His resolve broken he lifts the attention craving boy off the ground and settles him on his hip. Gabriel hums happily at finally being picked up he starts chewing on Sam’s shirt, he doesn’t bother to stop him because truly he doesn’t care. Michael trots into the kitchen just as Sam is putting the mac and cheese in bowls and plating fish sticks.

     “Michael, can you get your brothers? Lunch is ready.”

           “Sure.”

    As Sam puts Gabe in his highchair Cas walks into the kitchen looking murderous. Sam spent mostly his entire life around people who always looked ready to commit murder and Castiel definitely has one of the most terrifying murderous looks he’s ever seen.

       “Something wrong?” He dumbly asks, knowing full well that something is wrong.

 “Yes. Everything is wrong,” the angel rubs his temples, “I need to go to heaven.”

      He tries to hide his surprise and focuses on putting plates on the island. There’s nothing good that could come from Cas going to heaven. On top of that Dean is so far out of the loop right now and that never leads to anything good. His brother doesn’t even know that Sam is at the house, Castiel having shot down the idea of calling the older Winchester while he is at work.

   “Maybe we should call Dean, just give him a heads up on everything that’s happening.”

          “We don’t need to bother him.” Cas immediately replies.

    Michael and the two other boys walk into the kitchen. Lucifer and Michael help Raph onto his stool before getting onto their own. Sam thinks carefully about the next sentence he wants to say, he doesn’t want to upset Cas but he also wants to try and stop a fight from happening.

       “I don’t think he would view it as a bother. A lot has happened since this morning and I think he would like to know about everything that will be going on in the next twenty four hours.” Sam keeps his voice light and hands Raphael a sippy cup full of diluted juice.

     “We aren’t calling him Sam, so drop it,” Cas’ tone gains everyone’s attention, all the boys’ eyes wide even Sam’s, “I’ll talk to him when he get home. Now I have to go talk business with some people. I won’t be long.”

         Castiel gives all the kids a kiss on the top of the head and gives Sam a stern look before leaving the room. Mentally preparing himself for the blow up that is sure to happen at some point tonight he starts doing the dishes and listens to the story that Lucifer tells his brothers on how fish sticks are made.

~~~~~~~~

      When Sam had called the best hunters he knew to try and get them to help out on the hunt, he one hundred and ten percent didn’t think this would happen. He’s standing in the middle of one of Dean’s worst nightmares. Six hunters are in his house, around his children, running amuck. Garth throws Gabe in the air for what seems like the millionth time and each time without fail the boy screams in delight. Lucifer is pelting Asa Fox with stuffed animals, Michael is yelling at everyone to get out and stop touching his brothers and Raphael ran off once the third person had come into the house and has been hiding ever since.

      Jody walks up to Sam with a smirk. She leans against the railing to the staircase and looks out to watch the battlefield.

 “What do you think Dean’s reaction is going to be?”

       “Get the burial ready for me.” Sam can already see his death happening.

  Jody laughs as if this disaster is hilarious. Rudy walks out of the dining room and gets a stuffed animal to the face, he looks to Sam and his expression shows that he can also foresee Sam’s death happening. Alicia and Max Banes try to sneak past Lucifer’s ruthless swarm of stuffed animals to get into the living room but they give up and head to the dining room.

      Most people don’t get to pinpoint the exact moment that someone decided to kill them but Sam does. The front door opened and instantly his brother’s attention was drawn to the shouting eight year old. Dean looks around the foyer and takes everything in his eyes wide in concern before landing on Sam, then his brother’s eyes narrow into a glare.

    “Dean!” Michael shouts and flings himself at the man.

          Dean drops his lunch bag to catch the flying eight year old. “Get them out.” Michael whimpers.

      “Daddy were under attack!” Lucifer screams and increases his pace of throwing stuffed toys.

           Everyone within the vicinity halts when they hear what Lucifer called Dean, everyone expect Dean and the kids.

         “Garth if you throw him in the air one more time,” Dean doesn’t bother to finish the threat, Garth puts the youngest down, “Lucifer and Michael please take Gabe into the living room and clean up these toys.”

         Dean puts Michael down and the boys quickly do as they’re told. Taking a breath the oldest Winchester looks around at the rest of the hunters again, his expression blank but Sam knows that just means that his brothers is full of rage.

       “Where’s Raphael?”

           “We don’t know.” Sam informs and looks down shamefully.

       Dean’s jaw clenches and his eyes harden. Sam braces himself for the freak out, for the volcano to explode. Everyone else eyes Dean cautiously Rudy takes a step away from the oldest Winchester. Dean visibly tries to calm himself and it visibly doesn’t work.

           “Everyone.get.out.” Dean growls.

        “Dean-“

            “Out.” Dean’s harsh voice cuts Jody off completely.

        Without any argument all of the hunters file out of the house until it’s just Dean and Sam left. Now there aren’t going to be any witnesses to his death. Sam starts formulating his explanations in his head.

          “Dean I-“

       “I don’t want to hear it, Sam. I have to find one of my kids. Go keep an eye on my three other ones, I mean if your capable.” Dean starts walking up the staircase.

           Sam tries not to get upset at the fact that Dean pointedly called him Sam and that fact that he upset his own brother so much. Trying to think of something else he starts walking to the playroom.

~~~~~~~~

       “Raphael,” Dean calls for the thousandth time, he’s looked through almost the entire house, “Thunder.”

          He looks under his and Castiel’s bed. Castiel. Where is Castiel? He doesn’t remember being told that Cas wouldn’t be home. Come to think of it he doesn’t remember getting a call that Sam finally arrived either. He shakes his head and focuses on the task at hand – finding a terrified four year old.

       “Thunder.” Dean looks around the room contemplating all of the places Raphael would be able to hide.

          A tiny whimper fills the silence. Dean’s jerks his head in the direction that the sound came from and rushes to the master bathroom. Slowly, as to not frighten Raphael he opens the cabinet door to the bottom of the sink and the sight he’s met with makes him want to slam Sam’s head through a window. Raphael is curled up, face covered in tear tracks and snot, he’s hiccupping and sitting in a puddle of his own urine.

     “Oh, buddy.” He coos sadly at the sight.

            Raphael turns his big sad eyes to Dean. “Daddy!” The four year old throws himself into the man’s arms.

      Dean hums while slowly rocking his now crying kid. Gently shushing Raphael he starts stripping the sodden clothes off of the boy, he sucks a breath in at the sight of the irritated skin around Raph’s privates and thighs. Keeping one hand on Raphael and turning on the water to start a warm bath Dean’s mind starts racing. He continues comforting the upset boy but his mind wanders to the discussion he is going to have with his thoughtful, considerate brother.

         “Sorry, Daddy.” Raphael mumbles, twisting his fingers together.

    “What are you sorry about, buddy?” Dean questions as he places his boy in the warm water.

          “Made a mess.” The boy’s eyes drift over to the still open cabinet.

     “Oh, Thunder, no. You don’t have anything to be sorry about. It was an accident and accidents happen. It’s Sam’s fault anyway.” He says the last sentence under his breath.

          The rest of the bath consists of Raph getting upset every few seconds and Dean doing his best to comfort and reassure the boy that nothing is wrong and everything is okay. He lifts the boy out and grabs a towel to wrap him up in. Dean puts rash cream on him and lose fitting underwear then one of his own old t-shirts. He carries him down the stairs and to the play room to which he places Michael in charge and tells Lucifer to be nice to Raphael, then he resists the urge to drag Sam upstairs by his ear.

        Sam stands in front of Dean trying to use his puppy dog eyes to make Dean less angry but it’s not working, not this time not when it comes to one of his boys. Dean crosses his arms and stares his brother down he’s attempting to gather his thoughts before saying anything.

           “Dean, I’m sorry, you have to understand-“

       Dean holds his hand up to get his brother to stop his rambling excuses. “You lost one of my kids.”

           “I know, I know and that’s unforgiveable but-“

      “You lost one of my kids _and_ let a herd of hunters into my house around my kids.”

            “I didn’t think that they would come here, to the house, Dean you know that I would never-“

       “I don’t know anything anymore! I didn’t know that you were here. I don’t know where the hell Cas is. I-“

            “Heaven.”

      “What?” 

      “Cas is in Heaven.”

   Dean’s mouth snaps shut, an audible click is made from how hard his teeth connect. He nods and pointedly ignores Sam taking three steps away from him. Castiel is in Heaven and he wasn’t even informed. Sam not only finally arrived in town but is staying at the house and invited six hunters to town and he wasn’t informed. Who even knows what else he doesn’t know about? With another nod he runs a hand through his hair then down his face.

       For over a week his life has been falling apart. Some outer cosmic force has gripped the fabric of his life and is slowly ripping it to shreds. Now the cherry on the shit pile that is his life, everyone close to him has decided to keep him in the dark about all new occurrences.

     “I can’t do this.” He says while looking down at his shoes.

         “Dean?” Sam’s voice is soft like he’s talking to someone who is about to shatter like a fragile vase.

      Dean shakes his head and keeps his eyes trained on the floor. His lips twist in the effort of trying to keep himself together, he squeezes his eyes shut and counts to ten. For an entire week he’s been living in constant fear and panic, Castiel has been telling him that everything is fine and will all work out fine but how can he believe that now? How can he believe that anything will be okay, that his kids are safe now that Cas has decided to up and go to Heaven and not even bother tell him? Who even knows if Cas is going to bother to come back?

        “I can’t.” His voice comes out in a croak.

    Sam says something but he doesn’t hear it. Everything around him has become white noise. In a daze he walks down to the playroom to spend time with his kids while he can.

~~~~~~~~

        Castiel walks into the living room to see Dean clutching an empty glass and starting at it. The television is off as well as the lights. Shrugging off his coat Cas hangs it on the rack and steps into the living room. The movement doesn’t even draw the ex-hunters attention.

         “Dean, are you okay?” He cautiously asks.

     Dean’s head snaps up, his unfocused green eyes darting to the angel’s direction. Taking precise steps forward Cas lowers himself next to his love. Dean’s eyes have gone back to the glass in his hand.

         “Were you drinking something?”

    “Wanted whiskey. We don’t have whiskey.” Dean sighs heavily as if the lack of whiskey is great burden to him.

         “What else is wrong?” He places a hand on the man’s thigh.

    Dean moves away from Cas’ touch. The angel furrows his brows at the act. He looks from Dean to the empty space between them then back to Dean. The man swallows before tearing his gaze away from the glass in his hand and looks at Cas with now glassy eyes instead of dazed.

      “It’s not fair.” The man states slowly.

    “What’s not fair?” Cas is entirely confused by what’s happening.

      “If I did what you did today… If I acted the way you did,” Dean shakes his head with a mirthless laugh, “it’s three thirty in the morning, Castiel.”

     Cas glances at the clock to confirm the time, it is in fact three thirty in the morning. “Are you mad at me?”

        “Yes, I’m mad at you! I- I’m _furious._ You left! You left for _over_ twelve hours. I came home and you weren’t here. I came home to my brother and six other hunters in the house. I came home to Lucifer and Michael freaking out and Raphael hiding in a cabinet. You left, Castiel. You left and didn’t bother to tell me.” Dean talks quickly and shakes his head the entire time as if he can’t believe everything that had happened today, his voice is furious but his face is pure hurt.

     “Dean I didn’t mean to upset you. I would never – I just didn’t think ahead. I was so focused on one thing. Sam tried telling me, he did, he tried getting me to call. I’m sorry.”

         “You didn’t think,” Dean shakes his head in agreement, “I’m going to bed.” He puts the glass on the coffee table with a heavy hand.

       “I’ll be up in a couple of minutes.” Castiel picks the glass up as Dean stands up.

            “No.”

      “What?”

          “You can sleep on the couch.” Dean doesn’t even bother to turn around so that he can look at Cas while he talks.

      There’s no room left for argument. Dean climbs the stairs in a way that’s loud enough to make a point to Cas but quite enough to not wake anyone up. Cas sits on the couch stunned and wounded. He looks at the clock and starts rethinking all of the choices he made in the last twelve hours that led up to one of the most important people in his life not wanting to even be in the same room as him.

~~~~~~~~

 

       Sam wakes up late, he stumbles down the stairs. Dean is already at work and he remembers being told that the boy’s would be at a friend’s house for the day, the Bellerose's he thinks. He groggily walks into the kitchen only thinking about coffee. Castiel is in the kitchen sitting at the island staring at a piece of paper. He turns on the coffee pot before saying anything to the distraught angel.

    “What’s up?”

         “He hates me.” Cas hands the paper to Sam.

_Dear Castiel,_

_By the time you see this I’ll be at work. I’m still mad at you but I’m going to try and get home early from work so that we can discuss things. I don’t expect you to not send the boy’s to Jaxlyn’s, it will only disappoint them but I’m very worried about them. I’m worried about a lot of things. If you decide to leave again that’s fine just let Sam know that I want no hunters in the house unless I’m home._

_Dean._         

       “He doesn’t hate you, Cas.” Sam puts the paper on the counter and pours himself a cup of coffee.

    “He hates me. I messed up. I should have listened to you, I should have called him and told him. I shouldn’t have let him go to bed without explaining everything. I tried so hard to avoid this and here we are.” Cas puts his head in his hands.

      “You’ll work it out. He doesn’t hate you Cas, trust me. He cares about you, _a lot_ , I can tell. He doesn’t want to lose you.”

   “I don’t want to lose him either. I want him to be happy, I want to make him happy but he’s not happy. He’s scared and worried and it’s all my fault.” The angel rakes his hands through his hair, musing it in other directions.

      “It’s not all your fault that he’s worried. He’s going to be worried about this situation no matter what.” Sam puts a hand on Cas’ shoulder in an effort to comfort.

   “Well I certainly didn’t help or make anything better.” Cas groans and drags his hands down his face.

        “No… but you guys will work it out.”

     “I hope so.”

         Cas stands up. “I let him down.” He mutters as he leaves the kitchen.

     Sam frowns at the angel’s retreating back, Dean and Cas are going through a lot he can’t even imagine how they’re feeling but he knows they will work everything out they have to. He downs his coffee then refills the mug, he takes Frosted Flakes out of the cabinet and pours himself a bowl. A part of him feels like he should stay at the house and try to help Cas work things out but another part knows that he’s never been close with Cas. He decides to let Cas be, maybe having some time to himself will let him gather himself and be able have a good conversation with Dean. Sending a silent prayer that Dean and Castiel work everything out, he heads up to the guest room so that h can get ready for the day.

        Freshly showered, Sam heads out to the diner to meet up with the other hunters. As soon as he sits down at the table with the other hunters he’s bombarded with a million questions, most that he doesn’t know the answer to. Jody and Asa have the most questions, talking over each other to be heard. Rudy doesn’t seem to have any questions but he’s always been a man of few words.

     “Okay, okay,” Garth speaks up, “Dean and Cas’ personal life don’t matter. We’re here on a hunt, we’re here to help people and keep them safe. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

         The table falls silent as they come to the realization that even though they want to know more about Dean and Cas’ personal life they have a job to do. Alicia and Max look down at the table and nod, Rudy grunts in agreement. Jody and Asa relent but they clearly still want answers.

~~~~~~~~

  Michael smiles at Jaxlyn while he listens to his friend talk about how excited he is to go back to school. Jaxlyn lifts his backpack onto the bed and starts taking everything out to show Michael.

     “This is my pencil case, isn’t it awesome?” Jaxlyn proudly shows off his Hulk pencil case.

   “It’s totally awesome.” Michael’s words make his friend smile so hard that his eyes crinkle.

       “I wish that you were going to my school.” Jaxlyn sighs and flops forward so that he’s half laying on Michael’s lap.

    “Me too.”

      “Maybe next year you can come to school instead of being homeschooled, because then we would see each other even more.”

    “Yeah, maybe.”

        With another great sigh Jaxlyn heaves himself up and starts stuffing his things back into his backpack. Michael takes notice to all of the Hulk things that Jaxlyn has, not even just school supplies but many things around his room. It’s something that Michael has notices before, he’s not judging Michael’s own room is entirely spaced themed and he has a multitude of outer space things.

    “Why do you like the Hulk so much?” He asks curiously.

          Jaxlyn shrinks a little, something he does when he’s embarrassed. “I don’t know.” The fair haired boy shrugs.

       Michael cocks his head to the side in thought, Jaxlyn is a tricky person. He’s so smart that he knows when you’re trying to get him to open up and he’s always nervous that someone will judge him and make fun of him, Michael would never make fun of Jaxlyn and he hopes Jaxlyn knows that but Jaxlyn is a nervous person.

         “I think he’s the coolest avenger because he’s a scientist too.” Michael explains.

    Jaxlyn side eyes him then shifts him around so that he’s sitting cross legged and looking at Michael. “Do you really want to know?”

       “Yes.”

    “You’re not going to be a jerk about it?”

         “Do you think I’m a jerk?”

     “No!”

         “Then I won’t be a jerk.” Michael reassures.

    “I like the Hulk so much because he’s smart and strong, I want to be like him. Everyone says I’m smart that I’m _so_ smart and I can be anything I want because I’m _so_ smart but I’m not strong. I’m small and weak.” Jaxlyn turns his purple eyes down to look at his long bony fingers.

       “You’re not weak.” Michael disagrees with a shake of his head.

   “C’mon Michael. Look at me and look at you.”

       “What’s your point?”

   “You’re average and I’m not. I’m small. I can’t stand up to people psychically. If someone wants to beat me up then I’m going to get beaten up.” Jaxlyn sighs exasperated that Michael doesn’t seem to understand.

       Michael frowns, he does understand what Jaxlyn is saying but he wishes that his friend didn’t view himself like that. Instead of arguing further and risking upsetting the other boy he leans forward and hugs Jaxlyn and makes a silent promise to always protect him. Jaxlyn squeezes Michael back.

    “Let’s go get a snack and then play a game!” Jaxlyn excitedly gets up, moving on from what just happened.

        He follows the bouncing boy down the hall and to the kitchen where Jaxlyn’s brother older Tane is with Gabriel. Tane is sitting on the kitchen floor and is holding Gabe’s ankles and is pushing and pulling him across the floor. Gabriel is a giggling mess, Tane looks up when they walk into and smiles.

   “I love this kid! He’s so funny and easy to entertain.” Tane pulls Gabe towards him then quickly pushes him away to which the toddler squeals and claps his hands.

      “Where are Raphael and Lucifer?” Michael asks as Jaxlyn jumps onto the counter and starts going through the cabinets.

    “Raphael is with Silvia and I think Lucifer is following Dad around asking him a million questions.” Tane replies, he looks over to Jaxlyn but doesn’t say anything.

         “But why?” Lucifer’s voice comes from behind Michael, he looks back to see Jaxlyn’s Dad walk in the room with Luci trailing behind him.

     “Because Lucifer I like having the hair on my face,” Jaxlyn’s Dad doesn’t sigh but you can hear that he wants to, “Jax what are you doing?”

         “Getting a snack Da do you want one?”

    “No but I want you to stop climbing around on everything like a little monkey.” The tall man walks over to his youngest and lifts him off the counter.

 

      Jaxlyn grumbles but starts directing his father in what to take down for him. Lucifer sits down next to Tane and starts asking the teenager questions and makes faces at Gabe. Michael smiles happily and listens to everything happening around him.

~~~~~~~~~

     The plan is officially in motion. Max and Alicia are out looking for demons to hopefully get some answers from them. Jody and Asa are doing research on Jenny Greenteeth. Rudy and Garth are asking other hunters if they’ve ever heard of Jenny Greenteeth and also tracking to see if they can find anything supernatural around the town.

      Sam pulls into the driveway to Dean and Cas’ house, he’s happy with how today turned out and thinks both Dean and Cas will be happy about the plan that has been set in motion. He opens the front door and is met with something he isn’t surprised by but isn’t happy about either.

    “Can you please just listen to me?!” Castiel pleads.

        “No! I’m not done yet! Not only did you leave our kids alone with Sam who you didn’t even tell me had arrived but then a whole slew of fucking hunters were in our house! In our house around our children! They scared the actual piss out of Raphael! All of this could have been avoided if you were responsible for two fucking seconds!” The sound of stomping feet comes from upstairs.

     “How many times do you want me to say sorry? Because I am sorry. Obviously I didn’t want or expect any of that to happen. Would ever think that we couldn’t trust the boys with Sam? I thought what I was doing was for the best!” Cas’ voice is practically begging Dean to forgive him, he wouldn’t be surprised if the angel was on his knees.

         “Trust me I’ll be having a nice chat with Sam! And you thought you were doing what’s best and what actually came out of going up there, huh!?”

      “Well, I found out that a lot of angel’s don’t trust Chuck and that his having some issues controlling things. Then Chuck and I talked.”

           “Really?” Dean’s tone changes from pissed to curious, “how’d that go?”

      “He said that what’s going on here isn’t top priority.”

          “What.”

      “I didn’t take that well either. We got in a fight, it ended with many angel’s offering their help if we need it. Some are already looking into it.”

         Sam can no longer hear anything. Cautiously and as quietly as possible he backs out of the house, closing the door slowly so that it doesn’t make any sound he leaves and decides to go to a coffee shop and come back later.

~~~~~~~~

      Dean hums as he listens to the rhythm of Castiel’s grace. Out of all the makeups that he and the angel have had that was definitely the best one by far. Not only did they actually work things out and are on the same page now but he got to have some fucking amazing sex. He looks up through his lashes to see a half lidded Castiel looking down at him. The angel, his angel, smiles lazily down at him then kisses his forehead.

    “I truly believe that everything will be one hundred percent okay. We have a small militia on our side ready to protect the boys.”

      “That fucking witch and Crowley are going down.” Dean agrees with Cas.

   “And maybe we will finally knock some sense into Chuck.”

       “Don’t hold your breath.” He snorts.

   The sound of the front door opening sends Dean into a small panic. Cas whispers that it’s just Sam. He groans at the thought of having to get up but he should because he has to talk to his brother. Castiel tightens his grip making warmth flood through Dean’s entire body. With displeasure he uncurls himself from Cas’ arms and rolls off the bed, he goes to the bathroom so that he can take a shower and not smell like sex when he talks to Sam.

      Even though he showered and thoroughly lathered himself with soap which he repeated twice, Sam stills gives him the side eye when he walks into the guest room. Dean stands in the doorway and Sam is sitting at the desk on his computer.

    “I know you’re mad, at Cas and I but we both are sorry-“

         “I’m not mad.”

     Sam blinks at Dean in confusion, he had considered letting Sam go off on his spiel but he didn’t think there would be enough hours in the day to hear it all.

       “I was furious but I’m not anymore. Cas and I worked it out and while I’m not impressed by what happened when neither of us were home I came to the realization that it was all hunters we trust and that I’m sure you weren’t expecting them all to come to the house. I’m not mad Sammy.”

    Sam smiles with a nod he looks back at his laptop. “Jody’s going to have a lot of questions for you.”

        “Expected.”

    His brother lets out a soft laugh. “Everything is in motion.” Sam quickly starts going into great detail about the plan and everything that everyone is doing.

       Dean informs his brother that on top of the six hunters, there’s a group of angel’s on the hunt for demons and Crowley. Sam immediately has a thousand questions about Chuck and the angel’s and Heaven. Dean tells him as much as he can remember and leaves out some parts that he thinks would make Sam want to get involved in the mess that is currently Heaven. By the end of the conversation Dean’s feels more confident and comfortable with the situation happening than he has in weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a thought that I want to run past all of you. I’ve been thinking about posting little one shots that go along with this story, ya know little fluffy cute things that I either couldn’t fit in or didn’t make it? I have also been thinking about doing a collection of bedtime stories for Raphael, I know that I still have to get my shitty self together and post the Sherman magician one but once I do maybe I’ll do more bedtime stories. Would either of those be things y’all would be interested in? Let me know.  
> Love again,  
> Mess


	16. A Hunter Burial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello darlings! To be honest I wish that I had gotten this update up sooner but between Christmas and work and one of my best friends who is like a brother to me leaving for the Air Force soon and my friends coming back from college you could say that life have been a little hectic. Now that I'm done listing my excuses I just want to give y'all a little spoiler, we get to see more Balthazar in this chapter I hope everyone enjoys him. Now get to reading and tell me what you think <3  
> Love,   
> Mess

     Balthazar is fed-up. He’s fed-up with Chuck, with the other angels, with demons and most of all with Crowley. He’s remembering why he left Heaven the first time and is contemplating leaving once all of this is behind him. All the angels have basically been sitting around with their thumbs up their asses and he’s done. He’s officially taken all matters into his own hands.

      “For the last bloody time, tell me where these rouge demons are!” Balthazar screams into Crowley’s face, he doesn’t let his grip loosen on the expensive fabric of the suit.

   “I told you I don’t know!” Crowley screams back and spits a mouthful of blood in the angel’s face.

        In response Balthazar punches the King of Hell in the face, it sends the head demon flying across the room and into the wall. Crowley’s body slides down the wall and hits the floor with a heavy thump. Crowley groans and sways as he tries to stand. Balthazar strides across the room, he yanks the other to his feet.

    “Listen to me you fucking twat. If you think I’m just going to stand by and let some witch attack my brothers you’re as stupid as you look. I know that you know where these rogue demons are. So instead of playing clueless you’re going to tell me so that I can get this shit done.”

        “And if I don’t tell you?”

    “Then I will personal deliver your ass to the cage, I’ll stand by and laugh as Hell falls into absolute chaos and lock every gate up so that no one will ever get out again.” Balthazar let his grace shine through his eyes.

         Crowley is silent as he pretends to contemplate his only option, after a minute of silence he sighs. “If I tell you than you and the rest of your kind will leave me alone?”

     “I make no promises.”

          With another sigh Crowley hangs his head in defeat.

~~~~~~~~

    Castiel loves taking care of the boys, he really does, but he wishes that he could be out in the field fighting against the thing threatening his boy’s safety. He looks out to the backyard, Lucifer and Michael are playing some game that Lucifer made up. Raphael positioned himself under a tree and is reading to Earl. The angel looks to his right side and smiles, Gabe is napping on the playmate cuddling Plat.

     He doesn’t understand how anyone could look at these four boys and not fall in love with them, not care about them. His gaze drifts upward to the sky. The energy around the house changes. Cas tenses for a second until Balthazar’s grace reaches out to him. The deck door slides open, he doesn’t bother to turn around. His older brother comes up to his left side.

   “Any news?”

      “Nothing of importance.”

   Cas barely manages to hold back his sigh of defeat. Every day this continues, Dean breaks a little more. Castiel can’t start to break, he has to stay strong for Dean, for the boys.

      “I do bring a gift though.”

   Castiel turns and looks at his brother with a raised eyebrow. Balthazar says nothing as he raises a silver egg shaped _thing_ up for Cas to see. Instantly he can feel the massive amount of energy coming off of the metal object.

      “It’s from Heaven. Place it in your garden, people will think it’s a flashy lawn ornament, but really it will keep away anything supernaturally dangerous, expect angels. I already have it turned on all you have to do is keep it around the house. Nothing will be able to get within a thousand yards.” Balthazar holds it out for Cas to take.

    “Were you told to bring this to us? Or did you take it?”

          “What does it matter?”

     That means he took it, but Castiel isn’t going to be the one to turn down more protection. He takes the silver mass from his brother’s hands. His hands start shaking from the power coming off of the weapon, his entire body tingles. Cas instructs Balthazar to watch the kids while he puts the egg in the garden. He comes back to Balthazar sitting on the mat next to a still sleeping Gabe, the older angel is rubbing the toddlers back.

       “It’s odd seeing them like this,” The gray eyed angel says thoughtfully, he keeps his eyes on Michael and Lucifer who are running around the yard, “Thinking about them as powerful Archangel’s who helped shape the world. It’s odd.”

     “It is.” Cas agrees.

         “Was it hard for you to take care of them? In the beginning?”

     “No.” He answers truthfully, because it wasn’t. When he meet them for the first time as children the first thing he thought was that he needed to protect them not that they were Archangel’s who didn’t need help.

         “It was for me. When I came to watch them. It was hard to think that they needed anything from me. It was hard to know that they didn’t remember me.”

    Castiel looks away from Raphael and to Balthazar. He had never truly known the Arches when they were strong, out of them all he probably knew Gabe the best but even that was minimal and mostly knowledge from other angel’s. He had never met Lucifer or Michael and only saw Raphael in passing. Balthazar knew them all, he had studied under Gabriel until the youngest Arch ran away.

        “Gabriel was the one that taught me how to fly,” Balthazar looks down at Gabriel who is drooling on Plat, “and now he only knows me as the person who gave him too much candy in one sitting.”

      “Balthazar-“

            “It was easier for me when I thought he was dead. At least he died knowing me.”

     Cas doesn’t say anything, how does one respond to that? It’s not as if he understands Balthazar’s feelings, he’s never been through what the reckless angel is going through he doesn’t think he’s ever been through anything similar either.

       “I only gave him all that candy because he was scared of me, I wanted him to trust me.” Balthazar whispers.

     He doesn’t get the chance to tell Balthazar that it’s fine or say anything worth a cent of reassurance because Balthazar is gone. The only thing left behind are a few shimmering gray feathers next to Gabe. This time the angel does sigh, now he also wishes he knew how to ease the pain that Balthazar has. Gabe’s fingers curl around a feather and he stuffs it in his mouth. Castiel doesn’t take the feather away, it’s not going to hurt him if anything the grace from it will probably help his immune system.

~~~~~~~~

       Sam has been in some sticky situations before, but nothing ever this bad. His arms a chained above his head and there’s heavy chains around his ankles. To make everything that much worse he doesn’t know where he is or how he ended up here. Sam’s entire body aches but he manages to lift he head up to look around the room. Asa Fox is on the other side of the room and Garth is a few feet away from him, both are still knocked out and if Sam looks anything like how they look then it makes sense why his head feels like it’s been stuffed with cotton.

    The youngest Winchester tries to piece together what he was doing before he woke up in a brick room chained to a wall. He can only remember a few snips and pieces, he remembers meeting Asa at the motel and Asa saying he had a lead he was about to go check out, he remembers being in the woods and getting a call from Garth and the last thing he can recall is Asa, Garth and himself standing on the side of a road talking. Everything else is just flashes of color and blurred half images.

       A groan draws his attention, he doesn’t know when his head dropped down again but it did and it takes more energy than it should to lift it back up. Asa’s is awake and frantically looking around the room they are in, just the sight of how fast Asa is whipping his head around makes Sam’s own head throb.

    “What the hell happened?” Asa’s voice comes out as a croak.

         “The last thing I remember is meeting up with Garth on some road.” Sam forces each word out of his mouth, his tongue feels like a heavy weight.

      “I don’t even remember that.” Asa groans.

           The sound of a door creaking open stops the slow conversation. Sam looks around the room but can’t locate the door. After a few seconds someone steps out of the shadows, the person is on the left side of the room their head down. Asa’s bruised eyes are narrowed as he stares down the new presence. Sam looks at the thing but doesn’t want it to come any closer to him. He’s been around plenty of evil things in his life and there’s only been a handful of creatures that emitted such powerful feelings of malicious.

       “What the fuck are you?” Asa asks, venom dripping from each word.

    Sam wants to tell Asa to shut the fuck up and not talk to whatever the hell is standing in front of them but he doesn’t want to bring attention to himself either. The thing that looks like a human, but is _definitely_ not human, raises its head. Its face is scarred, not one part of its face is untouched, and it looks like somebody ripped its face open with barbed wire multiple times. The thing’s hair is buzz cut but since its features are destroyed there’s not what to tell if it’s a male or female. Slowly its mouth twists into what would be a smile if its face wasn’t torn about, it shows all of its pointed teeth. Sam stares at the teeth then drags his eyes up to look at the eyes of the thing, they’re completely red there’s no pupil or iris or white just all red.

       “I am one of the things you’ve been looking.” Its voice comes out crackled and scratchy, as if its swallowed a bucket of nails.

     “So you’re a demon?” Asa’s tone is bored, as if he has better thing she could be doing, if you ask Sam the best thing he could be doing is either keeping his mouth shut or begging for his life.

         “Yes, but I am much worse than any run of the mill demon.”

    “Really because it seems like you couldn’t even kill us.”

         Sam finally drags his eyes away from the demon to look at Asa, he stares down the other hunter, trying to tell him with his eyes to stop being an idiot.

     “You arrogant-“Sam looks back to the demon who is clearly enraged because now its eyes are glowing as it steps toward Asa.

        “Sister, do not.” A voice flows across the room, it sounds nothing like the voice of the demon in front of them this voice is soft like a whisper like it’s talking right next to your ear it sends chills down Sam’s spine.

      The other demon steps into the light of the room. It’s taller than the one with the mauled face and has long dark hair that reaches down to the backs of its knees. Its face would be pretty if it wasn’t so gaunt, its cheeks are hollowed in an unnatural way and the sharpness of its jawline looks like it shouldn’t be possible. To pull of the creepiness together its eyes are completely white and it has the same sharp teeth as the red eyed one.

       “We need them alive.”  

    Garth grunts as he starts to wake up. Asa opens his mouth and Sam has to stop himself from rolling his eyes, the older hunter reminds him of Dean neither of them know how to keep their mouth shut.

        “That’s your big plan? Try to keep us locked down here and what exactly? Try to get information from us?”

     “You’re not that important.” White eyes laughs.

          The demons words crawl over Sam, they get in his head. He starts thinking of all the ways he’s not important and why he doesn’t matter. He’s not like Dean, he wasn’t chosen by God to change the world. He doesn’t have someone like Dean does, he’s by himself. He’s not important, what he does isn’t special. There’s plenty of other hunters that do the same thing he does, that do it better than him. He almost caused the actual apocalypse that’s how much of a fuck up he is. There’s a distant voice in the back of his mind telling him that it’s the white eyed demon making him have these thoughts but the louder voice tells him that just because something is making him think about all of these things doesn’t make them not true, and they are true.

     Sam hears another body enter the room but his eyes are too blurry to focus on anything and his mind is spinning to fast to coherently think and make his eyes focus on what’s happening around him. He hears a dull shout but doesn’t know the direction it came from. A bright light engulfs the room causing Sam to close his eyes. His head spins and his stomach lurches, there’s too many thoughts running around his mind and too many sounds around him. Sam’s head falls forward as he throws up.

~~~~~~~~

    Castiel puts Raphael’s plate in front of him as Dean walks into the dining room freshly showered. The angel smiles but it falls when he feels Balthazar’s panicked grace. The older angel doesn’t bother to use the front door, he zaps into the room and scares all four kids Lucifer spits his juice across the table then starts coughing.

     “Balthazar.” Dean glares at the angel as he tries to get Gabe to stop crying.

   Cas looks at his brother, ready to listen while he rubs Lucifer’s back in an effort to get the boy to stop chocking.

        “I need to talk to you two.”

    Dean looks to Cas, silently asking if he has any idea what this is about. Castiel shakes his head but stands now that Luci isn’t coughing anymore. Dean puts Gabe, who has stopped crying, back in his highchair. The three walk into the living room.

        “Have you talked to Sam today?” Balthazar quickly asks.

    “Not recently.” Dean raises a concerned eyebrow.

         “Well I tried finding him to talk to him. I know that he and some other hunters are looking into the whole Jenny Greenteeth issue and I wanted to see what they knew and I can’t find him.”

     “What?” Dean’s concern rises.

         “I looked all over the world for him and I couldn’t find him, Asa Fox or what do you call him,” Balthazar waves a hand around, “Garth.”

      “You couldn’t find any of them?” Cas double checks.

           “Not one.”

      Cas takes a breath as Dean starts to panic. Dean calls Jody and Cas has Balthazar tell him everything he knows. It takes fifteen minutes for Jody, Max, Alicia and Rudy to get to the house.

        “Dean, I think I might know where they are.” Rudy says before anyone else gets a chance to say anything.

    “Where?”

    “Garth and I had been doing some investigating and apparently a warehouse two towns over has been shut down for over thirty years but in the past three weeks citizens of the town have been reporting seeing weird things around it and smelling rotten eggs. Garth said that he Asa and Sam would check it out while I went to meet up with a very old hunter who knew some lore on Greenteeth.” Rudy who usually talks very slow rushes everything out.

      “Okay, let’s go.” Jody claps her hands together.

    “No way.” Balthazar shakes his head.

         “Excuse me?” Jody crosses her arms over her chest.

     “It’s going to be enough to take down however many demons and keep three humans safe, I don’t need any more coming along.”

          “Balthazar is right.”

      “Dean.” Jody gasps.

           “Rudy and I will go with him. You guys stay here.”

     “I’m coming,” Castiel takes a step forward he knows that Dean wants him to stay with the boys but he can’t just sit by while his brother and lover go into a fight, “Jody can take care of the boys.”

         A small smile spreads on Jody’s face. “I’ve got it here Dean. Alicia and Max can help me.”

     Dean nods in agreement. Balthazar and Rudy wait outside while Cas and Dean explain to the boys that they will be gone for a couple of hours but will be back in the morning. Raphael cries which makes Gabe cry, Lucifer tears up but tries to keep it together for his younger brother, Michael looks scared but doesn’t argue. Dean and Cas reassure them that Jody is a very nice person.

       Castiel takes Dean’s hand as they leave the house, Dean squeezes the angel’s hand.

    “Alright finish your dinner boys then we can make homemade cookies!” Jody cheers.

         Lucifer cheers and claps his hands and Gabe lets out a wet giggle. Dean chuckles as the door closes behind them.

~~~~~~~~

     Dean’s stomach churns as he and Cas settle on the ground, flying always makes him queasy. Balthazar and Rudy show up on the couples right. They are outside the warehouse that Rudy had told them about.

       “Why aren’t we inside?” Rudy questions.

    “We thought there would be wards around the place, but there’s not.” Cas explains.

         Dean takes in the warehouse and looks around to see what around, there’s little to nothing around. There’s no houses so no one will be able to hear anything that is happening on the property.

      “It’s that a good thing? Let’s go in.”

        “It’s concerning. It means they are expecting a fight, they want a fight.” Balthazar puts a hand on Rudy’s shoulder so that he can fly the both of them into the building.

     Castiel does the same and presses an angel blade into the Dean’s hand before he zaps them into the warehouse. Dean doesn’t know who did it but either Castiel or Balthazar show their grace when they enter the basement, Dean shuts his eyes against the blinding light. There’s shouts and growls, something hits the ground.

      The light diminishes and Dean opens his eyes. All hell breaks loose. Rudy goes to Asa Fox and tries breaking the chains, Castiel and Balthazar starting fighting the two demons, Dean is assuming the beings are demons. Garth struggles against his restraints. Dean rushes to Sam who looks like he’s about to pass out any second. He breaks the chains with the angel blade, he drags his little brother to a secluded corner and away from the fighting before going to help Garth.

    Balthazar flies into a wall as Asa picks up a pipe. Castiel dodges a hit then sucker punches the white eyed demon. Asa rushes forward, Garth tries to stop him but Asa yanks his arm away from the taller hunter. The bearded man raises the pipe above his head ready to swing and hit the red eyed demon, the demon easily moves out of the way. It’s too fast for Asa, it grabs the man by the throat and drags him down to its level. Asa tries to swing the pipe again but the demon grabs his arm and twists it backwards making it snap. Balthazar stands up as the demon sinks its teeth into flesh of Asa’s throat, it rips out a chunk of flesh then violently twists Asa’s head to the side. Garth sucks in a breath and averts his eyes from the limp body on the ground.

      Dean grips the angel blade tighter. Garth and Balthazar go after the red eyed demon, Dean makes his way to Castiel. Cas is kicked in the chest. Dean lunges forward but the white eyed demon side steps him. As Cas regains his balance and stands up, eyes murderous, and Dean readies himself with the blade Rudy yells out. Dean whips around to see Rudy struggling against a yellow eyed demon, the demon has fiery red hair that’s pulled into a tight bun.

     Making a hard decision quickly, he decides that Cas will be fine for a little bit but Rudy is getting his ass handed to him. Dean runs at the demon, blade aimed at its side. When he’s within reach to move his arm forward to jam the angel blade into the demon’s side it pushes Rudy away and turns to face him. The demon grabs Dean’s wrist and squeezes until his hand drops the blade. Dean is thrown into the wall his head smacks against the brick and he sees stars.

         The demon advances on him, he tries to stand but his knees give out. He tries again, the demon is smiling at him and all he can focus on is the sharp teeth. The angel blade glints and grabs his attention it’s aimed for his head. Michael’s sad eyes flash across his mind followed by Lucifer’s lopsided smile, he sees Raphael curled up with one of his t-shirts, Gabriel clapping and laughing skirt past his eyes, Castiel laying on their bed sleeping after taking care of the boys all day crawls into sight, Sammy pulling into the driveway and all the boys running outside to see him comes to his mind. Tears well in his eyes as everyone he loves comes to mind and how he will never see them again. The boys won’t understand why he won’t come home, Castiel will be left alone. Sammy won’t have any family.

      Dean’s vision of the demon is blocked. The end of the angel blade covered in blood stops right in front of his nose. He takes a ragged breath as Rudy’s body falls onto his lap, his friend’s eyes are open and there’s a hole in his head where the angel blade went through. The green eyed man looks up in time to see Castiel shove the angel blade through the side of the demons head with the demons hand still holding the blade. Dean forces another breath out as he looks back down at his now dead friend, his friend who sacrificed himself just to save Dean, he didn’t deserve that. He’s covered in Rudy’s blood. A hand comes into his sight, it closes Rudy’s eyes.

    He looks up to see Cas’ face in front of his. Castiel runs a hand through Dean’s hair but doesn’t say anything. The angel picks up Rudy’s body as if it weighs nothing. Silently Dean retrieves the now unconscious Sam. He comes back to Balthazar holding Asa and Garth gripping the gray eyed angel’s bicep. Dean walks to Castiel and puts his hand on his angel’s arm, gripping it tighter than needed.

~~~~~~~~

    Dean doesn’t cry but Castiel knows he wants to. Cas holds onto Dean tightly as they lay in bed, he stares at the ceiling. The green eyed man has his head on the angel’s chest and is holding onto Cas’ shirt. He listens to the man’s breathing, he’s breathing even except after every couple of breathes one comes out ragged as if he’s about to start sobbing but he doesn’t.

     Castiel buries his nose in Dean’s hair and inhales then presses his lips to the top of his head. Dean’s breathe hitches again and he turns his face into Cas’ chest. There’s nothing that he can say to make the man feel better and he knows that. All he can do is hold onto to him and wait until morning, wait for the burials. The only good thing that happened tonight was that Balthazar managed to try the red eyed demon, so instead of having a pile of dead demons and back to square one they have something to question and get answers from.

    “You would have been alone.” Dean’s hoarse voice breaks the silence.

         “What?”

    “If I died. You would have been alone.”

         “But you didn’t die.” Castiel doesn’t want to talk about this, he doesn’t want to think about Dean being dead.

       “They wouldn’t have understood why I didn’t come home.” Dean’s voice catches after every word and he has to swallow to get the next one out.

          “You came home.”

     Dean shakes his head and turns again so that his face is once again hidden in Castiel’s shirt. He kisses his head again and starts rubbing the man’s back slowly. He listens to his lovers breathing, he revels in each breath.

~~~~~~~~

       Castiel only went to the burials for Dean and he can’t wait to leave. Dean told him that usually Hunter burials aren’t like this but Asa Fox apparently had a lot of friends and people that cared about him. Asa lived in Canada but his mother said that Asa always wanted his burial wherever he died, so the heartbroken woman came to Texas to watch her son’s body be burned. His mother along with Jody and few others are completely drunk. Dean is still on his first beer. Sam and Garth have been getting the bonfires set up.

    Dean stares at Rudy’s wrapped up body. Castiel doesn’t even have to touch Dean to see what’s going on in his mind, he already knows. The oldest Winchester is blaming himself for Rudy’s death and also feeling guilty over the fact that he’s happy it was Rudy and not himself. Cas wants to tell Dean that he’s thankful it was Rudy and Dean but he knows that hearing that won’t make Dean feel better no matter how true it is. He listens to what everyone is saying, everyone is talking about Asa and how great of a hunter he was and how he went down fighting for something good. No one is talking about Rudy, his name isn’t even being brought up. Not one person is saying how he sacrificed himself to save his friend, his friend with a family.

       “Did you know him well?” A half-drunk man comes up to the pair, his question is directed at Dean though.

     “Rudy?”

          “No. Asa.”

     “Oh,” Dean shakes his head and runs a hand against his stubble, “not really. Always heard about him. I think he was only here because Jody knew him.”

        The man nods then stumbles away. “I hope this ends soon. I just want to go home.” Dean whispers to Castiel.

     Cas nods in agreement. As if on que Garth and Sam come over to tell the pair that the ceremony is ready to happen. Dean and Cas make their way over to the two bonfires. Everyone else starts gathering around. Dean’s eyes are trained on Rudy’s body and Cas’ eyes are trained on Dean.

         Garth speaks first. He talks about how great both hunters were. He tells everyone that he knew Rudy better, that he had been on hunts before with him and that Rudy was the most determined person he knew that wanted to keep people safe. The lanky hunter tells everyone why Rudy got into hunting in the first place.

       “Rudy lost his little brother to a Djinn when he was only fifteen. Like many of us he got into it for revenge but he stayed a hunter to keep people safe. He sacrificed himself so that another brother got to keep his sibling, there’s not a doubt in my mind that Rudy died in the best way he thought he would.”

    Dean’s hand tenses into a fist. Castiel knows that Dean isn’t mad, he’s upset but he’s not going to let that show in front of all these people so he’s going to put on the front that he’s angry. Garth asks if anyone else would like to speak on Rudy’s behalf. Sam looks to Dean but the older Winchester makes no move to step forward and say anything. Sam moves forward and stands in front of Rudy.

        “I met Rudy because of Dean and even though I never saw him much, Rudy was always there when people needed him. He was the most loyal person I knew. When people needed him Rudy was always there ready to lend a hand and his immense wealth of knowledge.” Sam doesn’t get mushy about he keeps it simple and acknowledges how great of a person Rudy was.

      When Sam steps back and stands next to Dean one of Asa’s friend’s steps up and starts talking about what a legend Asa was and we lost one of the best hunters of our time too soon. Cas resists the urge to roll his eyes, of course Asa’s friends should be upset that he’s gone but to praise him like he was a God among men. It’s simply ridiculous.

     Sam, Dean, Garth and Castiel leave after the matches are thrown on the bodies and Asa’s mother starts screaming about how this should have never happened to her son. All four of them go back to the house. They walk into the house and Castiel thanks Balthazar for watching the boy’s. Gabriel runs to Sam and demands to be picked up, Garth smiles at the loud toddler. Lucifer follows Dean upstairs, Raphael and Michael quickly trail behind Lucifer.

      “I’ll be in touch soon. I think we’re getting close to ending this entire shit show.” Balthazar promises before quickly flying out.

     Cas checks on Gabe, the toddler is babbling away to both Sam and Garth as the adults intently listen while pulling books out of a duffel bag to do research. Knowing that Gabe is in good hands the angel heads upstairs. He finds Dean and the other three boys in their room, all of them laying on the bed. Lucifer is laying on top of Dean’s chest, Michael is curled up on his left side and Raphael is on the man’s right. Castiel smiles as he steps into the room. Lucifer turns and looks at him with a worried frown.

      “Daddy’s sad.” The six year old states.

    “I’m fine, sunshine.” Dean doesn’t bother to open his eyes.

         “No, you’re sad. I can tell.” Lucifer pets Dean’s cheek in an effort to comfort his Daddy.

     He goes over to the side where Michael is laying and lifts the eight year old up so that he can slide on the bed then lays Michael on his chest, similar to how Lucifer is on Dean. Michael curls into Cas but doesn’t take his eyes away from Dean. Knowing that Michael is a worrywart he rubs the boy’s back to calm him down. Slowly Michael’s eyes flutter shut, Cas doesn’t stop rubbing his back because truthfully it makes him feel better as well.

~~~~~~~~

         Dean’s working on Baby when Sam walks into the garage. His brother doesn’t look up when he enters so he sits himself on the step leading into the garage and waits for Dean to notice him so that he doesn’t scare him.  Dean pulls his head out from under the hood and stands up straight, he startles at the sight of Sam but plays it off.

     “What’s up Sammy?” The green eyed man asks while whipping a wrench off.

          “Just wanted to talk.” Sam stands and shrugs.

     Dean’s eyes flick up. “Everything okay?”

            “Yeah, I’ve just been thinking.”

     “When aren’t you?” The older brother chuckles and tosses his wrench back into place.

           “I think this is going to be my last hunt.” He watches Dean closely for his reaction.

     Dean freezes for a few seconds before he stands up and looks at Sam, face blank. Out of all of the reactions Sam had prepared himself for this was not one of them. He thought that Dean would scream and tell him that he was giving up his family duty that with himself not hunting one Winchester had to keep the family business going. He thought that Dean would be passive about it that he would wave it away and tell Sam that he had been expecting this. He thought that maybe Dean would be happy and tell him that he had been hoping he would stop.

      “What are you going to do?” Dean breaks the silence that he had created.

    “I was thinking that I would pick up where Bobby left off. Continue collecting research, helping hunters that need it. Learn as much as I can.” He leans against Baby.

       “Sounds like you’ve thought about this a lot.”

    “I have.”

        Dean nods. “I think that’s a good idea.”

    “Really?” Sam asks, surprised.

         “Yeah. The world needs another Bobby. Hunters need another Bobby, and who’s better than you to take his place?”

     Sam smiles in response, happy that his brother supports his idea. He walks over to Dean and pats him on the shoulder.

        “Thanks.”

    Dean puffs out a laugh and turns back to Baby and goes back under the hood. “You going to stay at the bunker?”

        “I haven’t decided yet. You’ll be the first to know when I do though.”

    “Good.”

~~~~~~~~

        Dean stumbles down the stairs half asleep with a crying Lucifer in his arms. The sound of hushed arguing draws him to the kitchen. Cas and Chuck are standing on opposite sides of the island both of them have their hands on the counter and are glaring at each other. Cas’ mouth snaps shut as soon as he notices Dean and Lucifer.

     “Is he okay? What’s wrong?” Castiel rushes over and lays a hand on the back of Lucifer’s head.

          Lucifer reaches out for Cas who easily lifts him from Dean’s arms and into his own. The blond shoves his face into the angel’s neck and lets out a shaky breath.

       “You’re okay, star. Everything’s okay.” Castiel murmurs to the upset boy while running his hand through the six year old’s golden locks.

          Chuck shrinks back from the scene. Dean ignores the short man for the moment and takes a sippy cup down from the cup cabinet then fills it with cold water. Lucifer doesn’t need a sippy cup but since he’s tired and crying Dean would rather give him something that can’t spill. He expects Cas to hand Lucifer back to him but instead the angel sits down on a stool and takes the cup from Dean.

       “Can you tell me what’s got you so upset, star?” Cas asks, once again using his special nickname for the boy.

         Lucifer rubs his face on Castiel’s shoulder and sniffles. “Had a bad dream.”

      “You had a bad dream? Was it scary?”

           “Yeah.” Luci responds voice wet.

       “Do you want to tell us about it?” Dean asks as he sits on Lucifer’s other side.

            “There was a mean lady and she took me away. S-she said she wa-was going to hurt me because you both don’t l-l-love me!” Lucifer breaks down into sobs and starts shaking.

         Castiel immediately hugs their boy closer, both parents are quick to comfort and assure Lucifer than it was just a dream and not true at all.

           “Lucifer we both love you very much.” Dean kisses the top of his second oldest head repeatedly.

      “It was just a bad dream-“

          “Just a bad dream, sunshine-“

       “No one is going to hurt you, star-“

            “Never, we will always protect you.”

       Cas pulls Lucifer back so that he can wipe the wetness off of the boy’s face. It only takes a few more reassuring words and Castiel’s magical back rubs and Lucifer is knocked out. Dean carries his boy back to his room and tucks him in. He’s tired and wants to go to sleep but he can’t just ignore the fact that Chuck is in the house so he makes his way back down to the kitchen.

         “Listen, I don’t fucking care what you have to tell me. You can’t just show up here.”

    “You have no right to talk to me like that.”

         “You have no right to be here. We tried to keep you in their lives but you refused. You don’t get to pick and choose.”

      “I didn’t come here to see them.”

           “Of course you didn’t. Why would you?” Dean lazily states as he walks over next to Cas.

     “I’m busy, okay? What do you want me to do?”

           Cas opens his mouth, eyes furious, Dean lays a hand on the small of the angel’s back. “it’s not worth it.”

        “I came here for advice.” Chuck continues.

            Castiel snorts and rolls his eyes. Dean has to bite his lip to keep is laugh in, the situation isn’t funny but he’s never seen Cas react to anything that way before. Chuck visibly doesn’t appreciate Cas’ response.

         “I need help with the angel’s. Not many of them trust me at the moment, I’m slowly losing control of Heaven. I need to know how to gain their trust.”

        Cas doesn’t say anything, he crosses his arms over his chest and pointedly looks away from Chuck. Dean looks between God and one of his children. He understands Castiel’s annoyance and anger towards Chuck but if Chuck loses control of Heaven, well Dean can already see the chaos unfolding.

      “Cas, if you have any advice that would help I think you should tell him.”

           The angel’s head whips around to stare at Dean in disbelief. “I know,” Dean says lowly, “but imagine Heaven with no God, no Archangels and a bunch of angels fighting over power.”

        They had already gotten a brief glance into how that would be but to have God in the picture and all of Heaven fighting over who gets to be in power, he doesn’t even want to imagine. Cas takes a long breath before turning to face Chuck, arms still crossed over his chest.

            “Talk to them. Actually talk to them. They have to get to know you before they can trust you and they don’t know anything about you. You’ve been gone for millennia, you can’t expect them to all have faith in you after you show up out of nowhere and tell them nothing.”

      Slowly Chuck nods as he takes in everything that Cas said to him. He mumbles a quick thank you before flying out of the house. Cas rolls his eyes again and leaves the kitchen. Dean follows behind him.

          “We should move.” Cas says, tone completely serious.

      “What?”

        

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you all think?? If you guys haven't seen my timestamp you should check that out, I also finally got the bedtime story up. I'm going to try to get more timestamps up soon, if there's anything you're dying to see tell me and I'll see what I can do!   
> Love again,   
> Mess


	17. The Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I know this update came late and I'm very sorry about that, I hope you all enjoy it. Tell me what you think <3  
> Love,   
> Mess

      Sam is woken up by his duffel bag being thrown on his stomach. He groans and sits up expecting to see one of the twerps. Balthazar was not the twerp he was expecting to see.

    “What are you doing?” Sam rubs his eyes and throws his legs over the side of the bed.

         “Get up and get dressed.”

     “Why?” He scoffs and Balthazar trying to order him around.

           “Do you want to interrogate one of the demons that beat the shit out of you or what? Now come on I don’t have all day.”

        Sam eyes Balthazar then lets out a breath and stands. “Do you mind?”

            Balthazar rolls his eyes and turns to face the wall. “As if I haven’t seen thousands of naked humans. You’re not even my type.” The angel mutters the last part under his breath but Sam still hears him.

        Deciding to ignore the angel he quickly shucks off his pajamas and changes into a pair of lose fitted jeans and a black shirt paired with a red and black flannel. He scoops the duffel off of the bed and takes his phone off the charger.

           “Alright let’s go.”

      “You really need to switch up your wardrobe.”

            “Like you have any room to talk, gray v-neck.”

     Balthazar responds with a heavy hand on his shoulder as he flies them out of the house.

~~~~~~~~

        When they land Sam stumbles forward and almost falls flat on his face, Balthazar offers no help. He waits until the human regains his balance. Once Sam is no longer tripping over himself the angel starts walking down the hallway of the abandoned house. He leads Sam to the basement of the old house. As soon as the basement door opens the sounds of the struggling demon echoes up the staircase, Sam doesn’t flinch at the sound.

     Sam doesn’t blink at the sight of the beaten angel chained to a chair. The red eyed demon looks like a wild animal failing around with its teeth bared and snarling. He flicks on the lights which makes the demon growl and try to fling itself backward. Balthazar rolls his eyes at the things actions because he knows it’s all for show.

       “I already have found some things out.” He informs Sam as turns on the faucet and starts filling a bucket with water.

    Sam drops his duffel onto the ground and keeps his eyes on the demon. “Like?”

         “They’re not any ordinary demons. They’re the three Furies. Abaddon’s three Furies.”

     The hunter furrows his eyebrows, thinking over what Balthazar had just said. Balthazar continues to fill up buckets of water, he lines the four buckets up then dips his hand into each one.

        “Abaddon is?”

    “A Knight of Hell. One of the first demons,” he carries two of the buckets over to where Sam is, “last that any angel had heard she was still locked up in the pits of hell.”

      “Couldn’t Lucifer have let her out?”

   Balthazar shrugs to show that he had already thought about that. “Maybe she had gotten out when the gates opened but Lucifer wouldn’t have let her out. The Knights weren’t his, they were Cain’s. He didn’t like the Knights because they didn’t answer to him.”

      Sam nods slowly as he takes everything in and thinks. “Is there anything else you found out?”

  “Nothing else yet, this fucker is hard to break. That’s why I brought you here. For back up.”

       “Let’s get started.” Sam claps his hands together than picks up a bucket.

~~~~~~~~

   Dean cannot believe that he and Cas are still having this conversation. It’s been ongoing since last night. Castiel is set on the idea of moving, really Cas is just pissed at Chuck and wants to spite him by moving. He refuses to even humor the idea because there’s no way that Dean is up and moving just because Castiel is currently pissed at Chuck.

       They spent the night discussing it, then the morning before he went to work, they texted about it all day. Now they are getting dinner ready and Cas is still talking about.

   “What are the pros of staying here?” Castiel huffs.

         “Hm well for starters Michael isn’t exactly the best at making friends and he has one here,” he rinses off broccoli then turns to look at Cas, “it took us months to make this place our home. The boys are comfortable here. Moving is a hassle and there’s no reason to move.”

     “No reason? Chuck keeps showing up out of the blue. He deems the boys unimportant but has the balls to show up here and ask for _my_ help.”

        “You think he won’t be able to find us wherever else we go?” Dean raises an eyebrow before he starts cutting carrots.

      “He probably won’t even notice at first and when he does by then we could have something to shield us from him.”

         “Oh yeah, I’m sure that will go over well with all of Heaven. The Archangels are missing and the two people who are raising them have stolen them. Amazing idea why didn’t we think of it before.”

      Castiel is silent. A couple minutes go by of neither of them saying anything. Dean looks over to the angel who is staring at the counter, his hands are braced on the edge.

          “I know it’s stupid. I know we aren’t going to move. It wouldn’t be fair to you or the boys. I just,” the angel runs a hand down his face, “he makes me so angry. I don’t want him around them. I know we said he should stay in their lives but fuck him.”

      Dean nods in agreement. “Maybe-“

          “Fuck who?” Michael asks as he walks into the kitchen and hops onto the stool.

     Castiel whips around so quickly Dean is surprised that he didn’t hear a crack. Michael’s eyes go wide in shock at Cas’ reaction and he looks to Dean. He snorts from the effort of trying to not laugh.

        “It’s not funny.” Cas turns to Dean.

    “It’s a little funny.” He manages to get out through his laughter.

          “No it’s not,” the angel turns back to face Michael, “that’s a bad word Michael.”

      “Why’d you say it then?” Michael asks, confused.

          Cas looks to Dean for help. With a smirk he crosses his arms over his chest. “Why’d you say it Castiel?”

       The angel narrows his eyes into a glare silently thanking Dean for nothing. “I’m an adult.” Cas weakly explains to the eight year old.

          Michael’s confusion grows, he looks to Dean then back to Cas. “What?”

     “There’s some things that adults can say and kids can’t.”

          Dean stays silent as his boyfriend struggles to explain curse words to their eight year old. He schools his features so that his amusement isn’t showing.

     “Why?”

          Castiel opens his mouth then quickly closes it as he thinks. Dean wants to continue to watch the train wreck unfold but poor Michael is so utterly confused that he can’t sit by anymore.

       “Michael, what Cas said is a mean word. There’s no reason for you to ever say a mean word like that. Okay?”

           “Okay.” Michael agrees even though he is still clearly confused about the whole ordeal.

    “Can you go make sure your brothers wash their hands? Dinners almost done.” Dean asks.

           With a nod Michael jumps off of the stool and leaves the room. As soon as the boy is out of ear shot Dean starts laughing, he clutches his stomach and grips the counter to keep his balance. Castiel hits him with a dishtowel and calls him a jackass which only causes his laughter to increase. Tears are leaking out of the corners of his eyes, he wipes them away and tries to regain some composure.

      “That wasn’t funny.” Castiel sternly tells Dean again.

            “It was fucking hilarious.” Dean chuckles, his curse earns him another whack with the dish towel and a disapproving look.

     He’s still chuckling as he puts rice onto plates for everyone.

~~~~~~~~

        Sam watches as Balthazar slowly pushes a hot iron poker that was doused in holy water through the Furies shoulder. The demon writhes and screams, once the poker is all the way through Balthazar pulls it out quickly.

    “Just tell us what you know about Jenny Greenteeth and all of this will be over!” Balthazar shouts in the demons face.

         “Why would I tell you anything? You’re just going to try and kill me once I tell you.”

    Instead of vocally responding the angel smacks the Furie across the face with the iron rod. Balthazar throws the rod onto the ground. The rod clatters to the ground and rolls away. Sam’s phone is on the cart that are all of the tools are on, it starts buzzing. Dean’s name pops up on the screen, he debates answering. He grabs his phone off the cart and tells Balthazar he’ll be back.

    He runs up the basement stairs so that he’s away from the noise. The hunter is startled by seeing that the sun has gone down, he hadn’t realized how long Balthazar and he had been trying to get information. 

       “Hey.”

   “Dude where the hell are you? You’ve been gone all day and it’s almost eight o’clock.” Dean doesn’t bother with pleasantries.

       “I’m with Balthazar.”

    “Why?”

        “We’re trying to get some more information about Jenny Greenteeth.”

    Dean’s silent for a few seconds. “Did you find anything out?”

        “Nothing important yet.”

   His brother hums. “Be careful.”

       “Always am.” A bang echoes from downstairs and gains his attention.

   “Are you coming back here tonight?”

         Sam shrugs even though Dean can’t see him. He hadn’t thought about it because he’d been so busy with Balthazar.

      “I don’t know yet.”

           “Okay, well you have a key just don’t make a lot of noise.”

     “I won’t.” Dean hangs up and Sam shoves his phone in his pocket.

            He looks around the empty abandoned house. Hours have been spent on trying to get any type of information out of the fucking Furie and they have a grand total of zero useful information. Taking a deep breath he cracks his knuckles and tries to get a grip on his rage. Breathing doesn’t work, he’s sick and fucking tired of this shit situation. Dean and Cas don’t deserve to be going through this crap and the fact that some ass wipe is going after four kids, he takes another breath. Those four boys have won him over and he’s going to protect them with his dying breath.

      Sam stomps over to the basement door and throws it open. He rushes down the steps and ignores Balthazar as he picks up a towel from the cart and throws it over the demons face. The hunter grabs a bucket of holy water and starts slowly dumping it over the demons face. Sam is putting an end to all of this _tonight._

~~~~~~~~

    “Fuck, fuck FUCK!” Sam screams and resists the urge to throw his phone.

        He looks to Balthazar who is passed out on the floor and then to the empty chair that the Furie was sitting in. Yes, _was_ , as in no longer sitting there. Turns out the Furie is considerably smarter than both Balthazar and Sam. The fucking demon had played the angel and hunter for almost twenty four hours. Thinking about everything that had gone on in the past hours makes Sam’s blood boil and heartrate pick up to an unhealthy pace.

     “The one time Dean, the ONE fucking time I NEED you to pick up your _GODDAMN_ FUCKING PHONE!” Sam kicks the cart of tools over before running up the stairs from the basement.

        His mind is racing on how to get to the house. He doesn’t even know where he fucking is. Now is not the opportune moment for Balthazar to be passed out on a basement floor. Sam runs a hand through his hair then cracks his knuckles as he tries to think. Castiel. Quickly he unlocks his phone and pulls up his contacts, the whole time Castiel’s name is playing on loop in his mind.

    “Are you okay, Samuel?”

         Sam screams. Sam screams extremely loud, Cas jumps back.

    “Jesus fucking Christ, Cas! You scared the shit out of me!”

         “Sorry but you called, very loudly. Also why are you in Nevada?”

     “Irrelevant! We need to get back to the house!”

          Sam’s panic makes Cas grab his arm and fly them back to the house without any questions. They land in the office and the usual nausea that hits after flying floods over him but he ignores it and yanks the door open. Sam runs down the stairs taking them four at a time. He jumps the last couple of steps and lands with a heavy thump.

      “What the?” Dean walks out of the living room.

            All of the anger that has been bubbling up in Sam for almost an entire day explodes. He uses his momentum from jumping and quickly moves forward, he pushes Dean and uses his height to tower over him.

       “Why the FUCK aren’t you answering you phone!” The hunter screams at his brother.

       “Woah what the hell? What’s wrong with you?”

    “What’s wrong is that I called you about twenty times and you didn’t answer. Where are all the boys?” Sam doesn’t waste time yelling at Dean.

        Dean’s eyes narrow in confusion. “Around the house. I think Lucifer, Raph and Gabe are in the playroom and Michael’s in his room.”

     “When was the last time you checked on them?”

          Dean’s look of confusion turns to one of frantic panic. Cas reaches the bottom of the stairs and gains Dean’s attention.

      “Samuel what is going on?” Cas is visibly trying to school his features but is clearly nervous.

           “They can’t be alone. The boys can’t be alone. Jenny’s coming.”

      A scream comes from upstairs. Castiel flies to where the scream came from, Dean and Sam race up the stairs. Sam’s longer legs give him the advantage so he gets to Michael’s room a total of three seconds before Dean. Sam rips the door open with such force that he cracks the hinges. A tall women pale, almost transparent, women is standing in front of the window holding a screaming and thrashing Michael.

        Castiel’s back is too them as he stares down the witch. Jenny’s hair falls past her waist in gentle waves, it’s a dark ivory green with white streaks throughout it. Her green eyes are color of lily pads but have pupils that are like a snakes, her nails are like talons and poised ready to wrap around Michael’s throat.

      “Put him down.” Dean growls.

           “No, I don’t think I will.” Jenny’s voice is soft, it doesn’t match her appearance which adds to her creepiness.

       Michael screams again, tears are steadily streaming down his face and he kicks his legs in an effort to get away.

          “How did you even get in here?” Sam asks the question they are all thinking.

     “The window.” Jenny breaths and motions to the open window.

           “Not possible, there’s no way you could get in here.” Cas shakes his head in disbelief.

      “Yet, here I stand.”

            Michael’s body contorts in an almost frightening way as he throws himself around in an effort to get away. Sam sees Dean’s knuckles turn white out of the corner of his eye. His mind is racing with ideas on how to get the witch to let go of Michael, he knows that Dean and Cas are also trying to think of a solution but their defiantly thinking more erratically.

      “Why are you doing this?” He asks, trying to buy time.

              Michael lets out another long wail, Jenny rolls her eyes and waiting for the screaming to stop. Sam has no idea why the other boys aren’t running up here but he’s thankful they aren’t.

       “I was hired for a job. I’m going to complete the job then get on with my life.”

             “But what exactly do you get out of all of this?” Sam quickly questions before Dean can jump in and say/do something reckless.

       The eight year old twists and turns, he tries going limp but nothing works in his favor. Jenny narrows her eyes like she’s figuring out if Sam is trying to trick her. The witch pets Michael’s hair which causes the boy to wail and tears to stream down his already red cheeks.

            “Daddy! Papa! Please, help me!”

     Everything happens at such an incredibly fast past that Sam has no idea how he keeps up with it. Dean and Cas rush forward, Jenny tries to move away from the two men coming at her but Castiel is faster than her. The angel wraps his hand around the witch’s throat and Dean grabs Michael. Jenny tries to keep her grip around Michael but Cas uses his other hand to yank her arm away. Sam walks forward ready to help Cas but as soon as he steps forward the angel is gone.

         Dean looks to Sam but is immediately distracted by Michael who is clinging to him and sobbing. There’s a hundreds of thoughts racing around his mind and he knows that Dean’s mind is racing. He decides to let Dean comfort Michael by himself. Sam jogs down the stairs to check on the other kids.

    What’s going on in the playroom is a polar opposite to what was just happening upstairs. Lucifer and Raphael are playing with their action figures, they are chattering away and laughing. Gabriel is building a tiny fort for him and Plat. Sam breathes a sigh of relief at the seeing all of them happy and safe, he has no idea how they didn’t hear the chaos that was happening but he’s glad they didn’t.

       “Sam!” Lucifer notices him and cheers.

   “Hey, bud. What are you doing?”

       “We’re playing detectives!”

   Gabriel claps then runs over to Sam, like always he tries climbing up his legs. He lifts the toddler up and settles him on his hip. Lucifer and Raphael continue playing their game. Sam walks over to Gabe’s lopsided fort and takes a seat in front of it. Gabe smiles and starts working on his fort again, the toddler uses his limited vocabulary to order Sam around to help him build the fort.

~~~~~~~~

    Michael’s lungs are burning. He can’t stop crying, he wants to but he can’t his face is buried in Daddy’s chest and he’s gripping onto his shirt. Daddy is rubbing his back and saying something but all he can hear is his own crying. He takes a deep shuttering breath and tries to calm down enough to hear what Daddy is saying.

      “You’re okay, buddy. I’ve got you. You’re okay.” Daddy’s voice is low and soft, he presses a kiss to his head.

    “Don’t leave me alone.” Michael chokes out between crying.

     “I’m not going anyway. I’m right here.” Daddy hugs him closer.

         Michael moves his head to the side so that he can listen to Daddy’s heartbeat, it’s steady and calming he breathes in his scent. Daddy smells like pine soap and coffee, it’s comforting and makes him feel safe. He doesn’t understand what happened but when he thinks about the green eyed lady opening his window and climbing, he starts shaking with fear again.

      Daddy stands up and continues rubbing his back. Michal lays his head on Daddy’s shoulder, he keeps his eyes closed as Daddy starts singing and walking around the room.

~~~~~~~~

         Cas flies to Heaven his hand still wrapped around the witches throat. Technically he could just take her somewhere and kill her but he wants Chuck to see how serious this entire shit situation is and has been. He lands in front of the door to Chucks office. Castiel doesn’t bother knocking he pushes the door open and drags the struggling witch in behind him.

     Chuck is standing at his desk and a few angels are around him, listening to whatever shit he is saying, they all look up when he walks in. Cas pushes the witch forward so that she’s standing in the middle of the room, Jenny stumbles but doesn’t fall.

         “What is this?” Chuck looks past Jenny and directly at Cas.

     “This is the bitch, excuse me, witch that just tried to kill Michael.”

          The other angel’s in room all collectively look to Chuck who looks between Cas and Jenny. The witch glowers at everyone. Chuck walks around to the front of the desk.

      “Could you all give us a moment?” Chuck asks but everyone knows it’s not really a question.

           All of the angel’s leave, some faster than others making it known that they don’t want to leave and they are curious about what is about to happen.

      The door closes and that’s when Chuck snaps his fingers. Jenny disappears. “There. Problem solved.”

           “What? No! Problem not solved!”

      “How? She’s gone. Now she won’t be after the Arch’s.”

           “Hm, how is it not solved? Let me think,” Cas sarcastically rubs his chin, “Well Michael is terrified and most likely traumatized. There’s still the thing that hired her out there wanting them dead. But since none of that matters to you I guess the problem is solved.”

      “Just erase Michael’s memory, I used to do it all the time.” Chuck waves his hand nonchalantly and walks back around the desk.

           Castiel literally has no idea how to respond to what he was just told. He shakes his head and looks at the spot where Jenny had been standing.

     “Well that explains how you fucked them up.” Castiel shakes his head again.

           “You know, I’m really sick of your attitude.” Chuck glares at his son.

       “And I’m sick of you in general.” Cas doesn’t bother to stay.

    Cas lands in the foyer. He’s glad the they don’t have to worry about Greenteeth anymore but that doesn’t mean they don’t still have other problems to deal with. Jenny was just the tip of the iceberg. His head turns to the side as he thinks about Jenny being able to get into the house. He opens the front door to check if the weapon is still in the front yard, it is which only makes him even more confused.

     He’ll think and deal with all of that later, right now he has some more important things he has to do which is check on all of his boys. First he goes down to the playroom. Luci, Raph and Gabe are all with Sam.

       “Papa! Sam made us a fort!” Lucifer yells as he runs towards Cas.

    Castiel lifts him up and hugs the little boy. “I see that. That was very nice of him.”

        “Yeah!” Lucifer wiggles down and crawls back into the fort.

     Cas hugs the other two then sits next to Sam. “Thanks for watching them.”

          “No problem, man.” Sam shrugs.

      “Seriously Sam. You’ve helped us a lot, you’ve helped them a lot.” The angel looks over to the fort where the three boys are inside laughing.  

         “It’s really not a big deal, Cas. They’re your and Dean’s kids, which makes me their uncle. I’d be a pretty awful person if I wasn’t here for them.”

       Castiel can’t help the smile that blooms across his face. He never thought Sam would recognize the boys as being Dean and his. Not saying that Sam is an asshole but the whole situation is odd. It’s a good feeling to have Sam accepting everything.

          “Go and check on Michael and Dean. I know you want to.”

     He chuckles but nods because it’s true. The angel goes upstairs, he doesn’t bother to stop at Michael’s room because he doesn’t think they would stay in there. Cas finds Dean and Michael in his and Dean’s room. Michael is curled up on Dean’s chest and it looks like Dean fell into a restless sleep.

      The angel knows he won’t be able to sleep but he gently climbs onto the bed and lays next to his boys. What happened today was either the start of everything ending or the beginning of the worst. He prays that it’s coming to a peaceful end. All Cas wants is for all of his boys to be happy and safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have a lot of things planned for the time stamps so keep an eye out for that, if you guys haven't read them if you like this story you might like them too! I love hearing from you guys so tell me what you think and if there's any fluff you want tell me about it and maybe I can work it into a time stamp. I love you all a lot and I'll try to get the next chapter up a lot faster. I love y'all! If you wanna talk some more you could check out my  tumblr   
> Love again,   
> Mess


	18. Loose Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beauties! Now I'm warning you all right now that there isn't much Dean/Cas action in this but I'll make it up to y'all with a timestamp soon. If you haven't checked out the timestamps you should go hop on over there because it's mostly fluff that doesn't get to make it to the chapters or things people have hinted at that they wanted. I'm probably going to be doing a smut timestamp soon just a heads up, is that something you guys would enjoy or should I not even bother to do it? Anyway as always I hope you guys enjoy the update and tell me what you think! I love love love talking to you<3  
> Love,   
> Mess

     Michael is hiding in his closet. The lady with green hair is looking throughout his room for him. She’s calling his name and scratching her long nails on everything. He’s covering his mouth with his hand so that she can’t hear his breathing. All he can think is that Papa and Daddy _need_ to come get him. He hears a door open and looks up excited to see Papa and Daddy run into save him. His heart falls to his stomach when he sees the closet door is open and the women is staring at him with her bright green eyes. Michael screams as the lady drags him out of the closet by his leg.

       “Michael!” He hears Daddy yell.

   He looks around frantically but he doesn’t see him anywhere. Crying, he kicks his leg out to try and get away from the evil lady.

     “Michael! Wake up!” This time he hears Papa yell.

   Wake up? He isn’t sleeping. It hits him like Raphael’s foot when his little brother is sleeping next to him. This lady was in his room and did get him but Daddy and Papa did save him. The memory starts over taking the nightmare.

     “We’re right here.” Papa’s deep voice rumbles.

   He jolts up with a gasp. Daddy’s hand lands on his chest to keep him steady. He looks at Daddy than Papa, his breathing is fast and uneven. The blue eyed boy tries to remember what Daddy had told him about how to breathe when he gets too scared and nervous but he can’t remember anything.

      “We’re right here, Michael. You’re okay. It was just a nightmare.” Papa rubs small circles on his back.

   “Breath with me, bud. In, one two. Out, one two.” Daddy keeps his hand on his chest like an anchor.

        He counts along in his head. Slowly his breathing starts to even out once he’s calm enough to breathe normally he realizes that he’s crying. Michael furiously wipes the wetness from his eyes and face. Papa grabs his hands and lowers them, he gently wipes away the tears that are still flowing down his cheeks. Michael hates crying and he wants to stop but he can’t. The tears don’t stop cascading down no matter what.

     “It was just a bad dream Michael.” Daddy runs a hand through his dark knotty hair.

          “It was real!” A sob bubbles up from his chest.

     Michael throws himself at Papa. He shoves his face into his chest and cries, hard. Papa is always warm, it’s a different warmth than Daddy’s, his warmth makes Michael feel fuzzy and like his body is humming. He thinks that Daddy and Papa are saying something to him but all he can hear is his own crying and all he’s focusing on is the warmth that vibrates off of Papa. 

        His mind is on a constant loop. The image of the lady holding him and her long nails wrapped around his throat. He knows it’s over. That doesn’t make him any less scared though, what if she come back and gets him again? What if she gets one of his brothers? What if his family gets torn apart?

~~~~~~~~

       Michael sobbed on Cas for forty five minutes until he fell asleep again. The boys eyes are swollen from crying and his cheeks are red. Both Dean and Cas are watching the blue eyed boy sleep. Dean obviously knew that Michael would be fucked up after what just happened, but there was a small part of him that hoped Michael would be completely fine of course that’s not how life works though. Castiel pushes some stray hairs out of Michael’s eyes.

     “After Chuck killed Jenny he said something to me.”

         Dean looks away from Michael. Castiel and he had just talked about everything that had happened in Heaven before Michael started screaming in his sleep.

       “I told him that killing Jenny didn’t fix all of our problems. I told him that Michael is going to be traumatized by what happened,” Cas runs his thumb down Michael’s cheek, “he said to just take the memory away, that he used to do it all the time. I got angry that he said that. I told him it wasn’t a solution… Do you think maybe it is though?”

         He’s silent as he takes in what Castiel just said and thinks it over. It’s a weird position to be able to be in, to be able to take away your child’s pain. Dean knows it’s morally wrong. No one or thing can live a perfect life. To constantly protect someone and take away all negativity means that that person will just be living a lie.

     “No. We have to help him through this not just take it away.” Dean lays back down on his side of the bed.

        Castiel nods before laying back down on his side. Michael is between them and usually the boy doesn’t move around much in his sleep but because of what happened today he’s been sleeping fitfully. Dean’s gotten a slap to the face about five times tonight. Dean’s tired and wants to sleep but all he can think about is how they are going to move past this, how they are going to help Michael be okay again.

~~~~~~~~

     Chuck pushes open the door to the warehouse, it’s dark, dusty and dirty. He can hear the noises of demons running around taking orders. As he walks down the hallway that leads to the office that Abaddon is in. A few demons run across him but he just disposes of the useless beings. He stops in front of the door and pushes it open with such force that it breaks off the hinges and falls to the ground.

       Abaddon glances up from her desk to Chuck. When she realizes who he is she leans back in her chair. He keeps his hands at his sides, ready.

     “I heard you are after my boys.”

          “So you’re the one that killed Greenteeth.” Abaddon’s smile shows all her teeth.

     “I don’t want to kill you. There’s a balance that needs to stay on the world that you contribute to. With that said. If you don’t leave my boys alone I will destroy you.”

        “Why would I not take my best chance to get rid of the Archangels?”

    Chuck pauses. A thought hits him like a train.

         “How did you find out about them?”

     The smirk that spreads across Abaddon’s face reminds Chuck of a snake. She says nothing as she lounges back further in her chair and puts her feet up on the desk. Chuck forces himself to remain calm, he can’t lash out right now because if there is a traitor in his Kingdom he has to find out who it is.

       “I’ll tell you on one condition,” Abaddon waits for Chuck to say something, when he says nothing she rolls her eyes then continues, “You tell your angel’s to leave me alone and have all of Dean Winchesters goons back off.”

     Chuck runs his tongue over his bottom lip. “Fine.”

         The knight moves quickly, she is in front of him in a matter of seconds. She thrusts her hand out in front of him. Reluctantly Chuck shakes the demons hand. With a shit eating grin the red haired demon goes back to her seat.

     “Who told you?” He demands.

            “Let’s just say Metatron isn’t too happy about the Archangel’s situation.”

      Chuck clenches his hands into fists at the same time that California has a 6.2 earthquake. He says no more as he turns around. There’s only one thought that he has as he leaves the dingy building and that is that an angel can’t pray for help when the one that would help them is the one that is going to harm them.

~~~~~~~~

         Michael’s having a total meltdown when there’s a knock on the door. Sam looks to Cas who is trying to unwind Michael’s hands out of his hair that he is tightly gripping and pulling on. Cas nods to let Sam that he can handle Michael by himself, at least for a little bit. As Sam walks to the front door he thanks his lucky stars that the other three boys are all napping, he can’t even imagine what it would be like if Luci, Raph and Gabe saw Michael freaking out the way he is right now.

    The tall man is completely taken back by the sight he sees when he opens the front door. Apparently Chuck is just as surprised to see him as he is surprised to see Chuck, if the triple take Chuck does is anything to go by.

       “What is that noise?” Chuck looks past Sam’s shoulder in an effort to see the source of the sound.

   “That’s Michael.”

       “What are you yanking his teeth out?”

    Somehow Sam resists the punch Chuck in the mouth. “No. That’s the after effects of being scarred by an evil witch.”

       “Oh. Well, is Dean around because I need to talk to him?”

   “He’s at work.” Sam starts slowly closing the door.

        The smaller man puts his hand on the door to stop it from closing. “When will he be home?”

    “I don’t know. Usually he gets home around five but sometimes he stays a little later.”

  “I’ll be back at exactly five.”

        “Great.” Sam closes the door and heads back to the living room where Michael’s howls have started to lessen.

~~~~~~~~

      Balthazar stares Chuck down. His head is still throbbing from being knocked out by the fucking Furie. He has no idea what this meeting is about but he has a feeling that he’s not going to be leaving this room happy.

    “There is no reason to be angry Balthazar so there’s no need for that look.” Chuck squares his shoulders.

       “I’ll be the one to decide that.”

    Chuck lets out a small sigh. His Father looks down at his hands as he thinks over what he is about to say. The shorter being drums his fingers against the desk then looks back up at Balthazar.

       “I know that you and Sam have been working very hard to stop Abaddon and her Furie’s, or well Furie since there is only one left, but you both need to stop.”

     “Did you kill her?” Balthazar narrows his eyes.

          “She will not be bothering the Archangel’s any more. You don’t have to worry.”

     “But did you kill her?”

          “They are all safe I have made sure of it.”

    “Stop fucking around! Did you bloody kill her or not!”

          “No I did not.” Chuck responds too calmly.

     “Of course you didn’t,” he pushes the chair back and stands up, “how can sit there and say there safe if she’s still out there?”

         “Because they are safe. You and Sam cannot go back out there and go after her. You have to trust me on this and that is that everything is fine.”

      “Trust you?” The gray eyed angel scoffs.

            “I know you don’t have much reason to trust me-“

     “Correct! I have no reason to trust you! You sit by for weeks while this shit show goes on then in one fucking morning you make everything okay?” Balthazar grips the back of the chair.

         Chuck breathes in through his nose. “At the end of the day they are my children, as are you Balthazar. You are _not_ allowed to go after Abaddon. I do know what’s best here even if you don’t think I do.”

      “This is-“

      “Not up for debate,” Chuck stands and goes to the door to his office, “if you go against what I told you there will be consequences.” He opens the door, wordlessly telling Balthazar to leave.

     Wordlessly the angel leaves.

~~~~~~~~

           Ever since he got home Michael has been hanging off of him. Dean got to leave work early because he finished everything early and the shop was slow. He’s glad that he got to leave early because when he walked through the front door he was greeted with a disheveled Sam and Castiel on the verge of a breakdown.

     Dean made dinner early, everyone deserved it. The family is sitting at the dining room table for change, except for Castiel who is in the bedroom taking a couple of minutes to himself. Michael is sitting on his lap and for the past five minutes Dean has been trying to coax the boy into eating _something_.

       Michael turns his face away from the fork with rice on it and into Dean’s neck. “Not hungry.” He mutters.

    “You have to be a little hungry. Sammy told me that you didn’t eat much of your lunch.”

         The only response he is given is a high pitched whine that comes from the back of Michael’s throat. A knock at the door makes Sam’s head snap up so quickly that Dean is surprised he didn’t hear a snap.

    “I forgot to tell you.”

       “What?”

    “It’s Chuck.” Sam mouths to him so that Lucifer doesn’t hear.

          Dean nods. He stands up and tries to put Michael down in the seat. Michael tightens his grip around Dean’s neck so he gives up and carries the boy with him to the front door. Chuck raises an eyebrow at the sight of Michael clinging to Dean.

    “Can we talk without,” Chuck motions to Michael, “around.”

           “Doubtful.”

     Chuck lays his hand on Michael’s back. The boy’s breathing even’s out and he goes limp in Dean’s arms. Dean, on the verge of anger, looks at Chuck expectantly for an answer.

        “Relax. He’s just sleeping.”

   Dean should probably be angry that Chuck made Michael fall asleep just because he doesn’t want him around. He isn’t though because the boy really needs some sleep and maybe he won’t have any dreams because of Chuck putting him to sleep.

       “Would you like to come outside so that we can talk?” Chuck starts walking over to the porch swing.

  He sits down next Chuck and repositions Michael so that the boys head is on his shoulder. Chuck crosses his ankles and drums his fingers on his thighs. The shorter man stretches out then looks at Dean.

       “You don’t have to worry about Abaddon anymore. I’ve have handled everything.”

    “Really?”

  “Yes. I know that I haven’t been around much. I am sorry about not being around as much as you and Castiel would like me to be. It isn’t because I don’t care about them.” Chuck pats Michael’s knee and moves closer to the edge of the swing.

      “You expect me to believe that you care about them when you’ve ignored their existence for almost a month.” Dean hugs Michael closer to him.

    “No. I know you and Castiel don’t understand,” Chuck stands up, “I can’t stay long. I still have some lose ends to tie up but you’re all safe now. Abaddon isn’t a problem you have to worry about anymore and I’ve gotten a few angel’s together to keep a watch over the town. Nothing like this is ever going to happen again, I’m making sure of it.”

       “Well that’s good… but what do you mean we don’t understand?”

  “You think that I purposely push you and the angel’s aside. That I don’t care about them but it’s not that. It’s that I don’t worry about them because I don’t have to. I know you and Castiel think that I’m not trying but I am, I’m trying to fix Heaven. I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of this, I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Chuck shakes his head and scratches his stubble.

      “Listen, I know what you’re doing is difficult but there still you’re children,” Dean looks down at Michael, “when they’re grown up and need to go back to Heaven, you shouldn’t be a stranger to them.”

   “I’ll try to be around more.”

        Dean looks up to see Chuck walking down the porch steps. Chuck disappears halfway down the steps. As soon as Chuck is gone Michael rouses awake. With a huff the dark haired boy sits up more on Dean’s lap, he rubs his eyes as he looks around the front yard.

     The man stands up and puts Michael down on the deck beside him. Michael latches onto his side, he holds onto Dean’s shirt. Dean puts his hand on the boys head as the walk back into the house.

~~~~~~~~

      Balthazar had stopped by the Winchester household to talk to Sam mostly but he needed to talk to Dean and Cas too. All of the Archangel’s are in there rooms asleep except for Michael who is in the living because he refuses to be an entire floor away from Dean or Castiel. 

        “Why would he keep her alive?” Castiel asks what everyone is thinking.

    “I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me but he said that we can’t go after her or the last Furie.”

        “What if we do?’ Sam asks defiantly.

    “He said there would be consequences. As long as the Arches are safe there’s really no reason to go after her.”

      “She’s a Knight of Hell. Doing who knows what. We all know she’s not ending war and creating world peace.” Dean argues.

    “I know and I want her dead and gone as much as you guys. It’s not our problem anymore though. Chuck says he has it under control and I know for a fact that Crowley hates her so he’s probably going to try to cut her off. As much as it pains me to listen to what Chuck says, this is the one time I think we have to.” Balthazar leans against the wall.

     The Winchesters don’t agree. Just be looking at their faces he knows they don’t agree with anything that he said. He can’t blame them, the brothers have been hunters for as long as they’ve been alive basically. It’s been their jobs to get rid of all the monsters in the world. So letting a powerful demon walk away to continue to cause mayhem goes against everything they know and stand for.

      “You’re right.” Castiel looks up to the ceiling like he can’t believe what he just said.

   “What? Are you serious Castiel?” Dean turns to look at his lover.

       “It’s not our fight anymore. We can’t put all our energy into killing a Knight of Hell we’re raising four kids, they are our priority. If Abaddon comes around again then we’ll make sure she gets six feet under but right now we have to put our trust in Chuck and that he knows what he’s doing here.”

    Dean scowls but sighs. “I don’t like it but we’ll trust him. But if something happens…”

        “Then will do what we have to.” Sam finishes Dean’s sentence.

   Sam goes upstairs to start packing his bags and the lovely couple go to the living room to get Michael. Balthazar takes the moment to go upstairs to Michael’s room. He takes in the colors and the paintings on the wall. The angel reaches into his pocket and takes out a silver necklace with an angel blade charm, he lays the necklace on the dresser. Balthazar closes the door behind him and goes to Lucifer’s room and puts a gold necklace with a sun charm on the pillow next to Lucifer’s head. Raphael’s is a silver necklace with a lightning bolt which he puts around Earl’s neck. Gabriel’s is a gold necklace with a golden heart charm which he puts on the changing table.

        Balthazar touches the necklace that he wears. He knows that Dean and Cas won’t let all of the boys wear the necklaces but all he needs is one of them to wear it. The necklaces are all connected, if the boys are in danger Balthazar’s own necklace will heat up so he only needs one of the angel’s to wear theirs. The gray eyed angel runs his hand gently through Gabriel’s hair. He wants to stay in the Archangel’s lives but he can’t stay around Chuck and he can’t stay in Heaven. Balthazar needs to get away from a little bit.

    He closes Gabriel’s door slowly so that he doesn’t wake the toddler up. Still holding onto his own necklace he leaves the Winchester house wordlessly.

~~~~~~~~

     Gabriel is crying his little heart out. He does not want Sammy to leave. Michael stays at Papa’s side as Lucifer and Gabriel say goodbye to Sam, or Lucifer is saying goodbye and Gabe is holding onto Sam’s leg and crying.

   “I’ll be back soon.” Sam gives Gabe a hug.

       When Gabe is put back down on the ground he tries to crawl into Sam’s duffel bag. Sam laughs and picks Gabe up, he kisses the toddler on the cheek then hands him over to Daddy.

    “I’ll see you all soon okay.”

       Lucifer follows Sam out to the deck and waves the entire time Sam gets in his car and drives away. Gabe kicks his legs against Daddy and cries harder. Papa corrals Lucifer back into the house. Luci is quickly distracted and wants to go the backyard to play. Daddy starts following Lucifer to the backdoor still carrying Gabe and Raph is trailing behind.

    Michael steps forward to follow the others outside but Papa puts a hand on his shoulder and stops him. He looks behind him to see what the heck Papa is doing.

      “We can go outside in a second Michael. I just want to go upstairs for a second.”

   “Okay. Do you need to get something?” Michael follows Pap to the floor where Lucifer and his rooms are.

       “Actually I need to do something.”

   Papa stands in front of his door. Michael’s blood goes cold, why is Papa standing there? There’s no reason to be here. Papa turns the doorknob and pushes the door open. He flinches and stumbles backwards.

       “Hey, Michael. Its okay nothings in there see.”

   Hesitantly he lowers his hands away from his eyes. He knows it’s stupid but he was expecting the lady to come crawling towards him. Instead when he opens his eyes all he sees is Papa standing next the open doorway and his empty room that looks the same way he remembers it.

      “Come on, bud. Let’s go in.” Papa holds his hand out.

  “N-no.” Michael feverishly shakes his head and stumbles back until he hits the wall.

      “It’s completely safe Michael, I promise. There’s nothing in there that can hurt you.”

   He shakes his head and wraps his arms around himself. Michael knows that his room is safe, he _knows_ it, but he can’t convince his body to move forward.

     “Look, I’ll show you. I’ll go in the room and I’ll be okay.” Papa takes a step forward so that one foot is in the room.

   “No!” Michael shouts and throws himself forward to stop Papa.

       The eight year old lands mostly on the floor, his chest hits the carpet with a hard ‘thump’, his hands wrap around Papa’s left foot to stop him. His chest aches from the impact and he starts coughing but he doesn’t let go of Papa’s foot.

   “Holy crap! Michael!” Papa leans down and scoops him off the floor.

         He continues coughing and tries gasping for air. His chest feels tight like it’s closing in on itself. Michael takes another gulping breathe which brings on another fit of coughing. Papa starts rubbing his chest. It eases some of the pain but a twinge is still there. He can breathe normally after a couple of seconds of Papa rubbing his chest.

      “You feeling better?” Papa asks concerned.

    “Yes. Sorry.” He ducks his head in shame.

       “Why are you sorry?”

    “Because I yelled and scared you.”

        “Oh Michael,” Papa hugs him tightly, “you have nothing to be sorry about. I shouldn’t have tried to push you into the room.”

    He doesn’t know what to say so he only hugs Papa back. Michael lets Papa carry him downstairs and to the backyard. He’s placed on the deck and the first thing he does is look around to see where everyone is. Lucifer and Raphael are playing the swing set and Daddy is sitting on a deck chair talking to Gabe in a soothing voice.

       Michael runs down the deck steps and to the swing set. He helps Raphael onto the swing and gives his brother a small push.

    “Where were you?” Lucifer asks before launching himself of the swing.

         “Papa wanted to show me something.” Michael gives Raphael another small push.

    “A secret?” Raph questions.

         “No, just something in my room.”

    “What’s in your room?” Lucifer puts his hands on his hips.

         “Nothing.”

    “That doesn’t make any sense.” Luci challenges.

          The sun glints off of something from around Lucifer’s neck. It catches Michael’s attention. He narrows his eyes to try and see what it is.

     “What is that?” Michael puts to the glittering thing.

           “A necklace.” Luci skips over to him so that he can see it up close.

      Lucifer is wearing a gold chain that has a gold sun charm on it. It’s very pretty and reminds Michael of Luci.

       “Where did you get it from?”

    “It was on my pillow when I woke up this morning. I found one in Gabe’s room too except his has a heart and Earl is wearing on but it’s silver and has a lightning bolt. This was in your room.” Lucifer pulls a thin sliver chain from his pocket, there’s a knife charm on it.

       “You went in my room?” Michael’s heartrate picks up.

   “Yeah. I wanted to see if you had one too.” Lucifer steps behind Michael and puts the necklace on him.

        The charm settles between his collarbones. Michael feels a little calmer when the necklace is put on him, he looks down to examine the knife. The knife looks like something he’s never seen before it’s cool looking.

     “Mikey,” Michael looks away from the necklace and to Lucifer, “why haven’t you been going in your room?”

        Michael shrugs and pushes Raphael forward again. Lucifer doesn’t push the question like he normally would. Instead his younger brother goes back to his swing and starts pumping his legs so that he can get as high as he can before he jumps off again. The eight year old turns his blue eyes to the necklace again while continuing to push Raphael. The blade looks almost familiar, for some reason he has a feeling that he’s seen this knife before but larger.

~~~~~~~~

    Metatron groans and tries to roll away. Chuck lifts him up and throws him through the wall. The God takes his time as he walks over to the bleeding angel. Once he’s in front of the sorry excuse of an angel he kneels next to Metatron’s head.

      “I should kill you for treason.”

    “Please. P-please.”

        Chuck reels his fist back then slams it into Metatron’s mouth to stop the idiot from blubbering. He sucks in a breath and wipes his bloody fist off on Metatron’s shirt.

    “You sold out the Archangel’s. Did you really think you wouldn’t be caught?”

         “They are a lost cause Father. You are wasting your time trying to fix them.” Metatron’s grace is starting to ooze out of some of his wounds.

     Chuck wraps his hand around the angel’s throat. “If you ever speak of them like that again I will come up with a new kind of torture especially for you.” With each word he closes his hand around the angel’s throat.

       He only stops when he knows he’s seconds from killing Metatron. He releases his grip and pulls his hand back. Metatron scrambles away but doesn’t stand up.

    “Like I said. I should kill you. I should kill you slowly so that you feel every second of it. What you did is inexcusable and unacceptable, angels do not turn on each other you are better than humans in that aspect. Or so I thought.”

       “Just kill me.” Metatron spits a mouthful of blood onto the floor.

    “NO!” Chuck’s voice reverberates all throughout Heaven, “death is too good for you. You’ll be in jail for the rest of time.”

         He snaps his fingers before Metatron can respond. In the blink of a human eye Metatron is in one of Heavens cells. With a wave of his hand his office goes from being in shambles to looking exactly how it did before Metatron walked in. Chuck collapses into his desk chair and rests his head in his hands.

     “It was never supposed to be like this.” He sighs and waves his hand so a glass of scotch appears in his hand.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again babes! Now I have created a tumblr and I've been thinking of maybe posting some drawings that I do for this story but I'm not that great of an artist so I'm not sure if I should. Would that be something you guys would be interested in? I could also post little facts and things about the boys there, I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in any of this though so let me know.   
> [ tumblr ](%E2%80%9Dmessaroundhere.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)


	19. Popcorn Zoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello babies! I feel like it's been a long time and I know this update is a little short but it was needed. Tell me what y'all think and check out my other stories and series if ya want! My tumblr is messaroundhere so come by and talk <3 I'm hoping to get more up tomorrow or later the coming week.   
> Love,  
> Mess

     Michael still refuses to go into his room. It’s been almost two weeks and he won’t even let Dean, Castiel or any of his brothers go into his room. Dean and Cas have been brainstorming nonstop in an effort to try and think of a good way to help Michael with everything he’s going through right now Castiel has started homeschooling the boys, it’s a small distraction but he’s still not the same that he used to be which both Dean and Cas understand why of course.

    Dean is watching Cas make breakfast from his place in the dining room. Lucifer woke up in a foul mood, Dean’s been trying to soothe the boy since he woke up but to no avail. He can see Michael standing directly next to Cas, the eight year old mine as well be hanging off of the angel’s neck. Lucifer grumbles and tucks his teary face into Dean’s neck.

   He softly croons at Lucifer at runs a hand down the six year olds back all while keeping his eyes on the top of Michael’s head. Castiel is easily working around Michael as he makes French toast. Lucifer’s hot tears are soaking into Dean’s shirt, he looks away from Michael and down at Lucifer.

      “Hey, sunshine, what’s wrong?” Dean quietly asks, he starts rubbing small circles on his back.

   “I dunno.” Lucifer sniffles.

       “Can I do anything to help you feel better?” Lately he’s felt completely out of control with helping his boys.

    Instead of verbally responding Lucifer curls tighter against Dean. With a small frown he presses a kiss Lucifer’s hair. Dean knows that sometimes kids just get in bad moods, they get grumpy, but he can’t help but feel that this is more than that. Still holding onto the blond boy he stands up, if it was Gabe he would walk around a little bit because that calms Gabe down but all that does for Lucifer is annoy him.

      Castiel and Michael are in the middle of dishing out breakfast to Raphael and Gabe when there’s a knock on the door. Dean looks to Cas with a raised eyebrow, the angel shrugs in response. He starts lowering Lucifer onto one of the chairs so that he isn’t holding the boy when he opens the door to knocking stranger. Lucifer whimpers and tightens his grip on Dean. Reluctantly he doesn’t put Luci on the chair and carries the six year old to the door.

    Slowly he opens the door a crack. He raises his eyebrow again, this time in shock at who he sees on the other side of the door. Dean swings the door open all the way so that Chuck is in complete view. Lucifer sniffles again the wipes his eyes on Dean’s shirt before lifting his head up and turning to see the visitor. The golden eyed angel shrieks directly into Dean’s ear, causing the man to almost drop the boy. Castiel runs into the foyer with Michael hot on his heels.

      Cas takes a gulping breath when he sees that the only threat is the short man standing in the doorway. Michael scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion. Chuck looks to both Dean and Cas wearily trying to understand what happened. Lucifer screams again this time also flinging himself forward, his hands shaped poised like claws ready to attack Chuck.

   Dean, not expecting Lucifer to try and attack Chuck, barely keeps a hold on the angry boy. Lucifer struggles against Dean’s hold. The boy tries to fling himself forward again and when it doesn’t work he twists and turns in an effort to get Dean’s grip to loosen.

     “Lucifer.” Castiel states, shocked.

   “Get him out! Get him out!” The blond reaches his small hand out trying to reach Chuck and scratch him.

     “He’s not doing anything Luci.” Michael tries to point out to his brother.

   “I don’t care! Get him out!”

      Dean starts backing away, careful as to not drop the squirming six year old. “It’s okay Lucifer. He can be here.”

    “No he can’t! I HATE him!” The force of which Lucifer screams shouldn’t be possible for the size of him, it not only startles Dean but startles the three others in the foyer.

       Lucifer stops struggling, deciding that if he can’t reach Chuck to fuck him up he’ll glare at him instead. The look behind Lucifer’s eyes is something Dean has hardly seen in his entire life, pure hatred. It not a look that should be coming from a six year old, a six year old shouldn’t be able to harbor that kind of hatred for someone. The reminder that Lucifer is an angel smacks Dean in the face like an angry one night stand.

    “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hatehatehate you!” Every word that falls from Lucifer’s mouth is dripping with venom.

        Chuck is trying to put on a mask but the words are clearly getting to him. Lucifer doesn’t relent, if anything he picks up the pace and the harshness.

     “Alright, that’s enough Lucifer.” Dean makes his voice stern and cold to gain the boy’s attention.

          “No!” Luci struggles against Dean’s arms again as Dean starts walking towards the staircase, “he’s awful and _HATE_ him.”

      He doesn’t give Lucifer the chance to continue, he tosses the boy over his shoulder and walks up the stairs to his and Cas’ office. Dean closes the door and stands in front of it before putting Lucifer on the ground. For a solid five minutes Lucifer tries getting past Dean and through the door. Lucifer tries everything he can to get Dean to move, he pushes at his legs, screams, yells at Dean, calls him names and stomps on Dean’s feet. Nothing Lucifer does makes Dean move, Dean doesn’t even give Lucifer a reaction to anything he does.

        Lucifer gives up and plops onto the ground next to Dean’s feet. Frustrated tears start dripping down the boy’s cheeks, he looks up to Dean as if he has betrayed him. Dean kneels in front of his silently crying son.

     “Do you feel better now?”

         “Noooo.” Lucifer throw his head back and sobs.

     Dean gathers Lucifer in his arms and sits back against the door. He lets Luci cry his heart out into his shoulder. Chuck would probably disagree with what Dean is thinking but Chuck doesn’t know his head from his ass. Dean’s fairly certain that Lucifer’s hatred comes from before he was de-aged, Luci may not remember in detail what Chuck had done or their past history with each other but he has enough of a _feeling_ left to not like the God.

    Lucifer finishes crying and sniffles harshly. The shoulder of Dean’s shirt is covered in snot and tears but he ignores it because honestly being covered in gross things because of his children has just become part of his life at this point and he doesn’t care about it anymore. He rubs Lucifer’s back as the six year old gathers himself. Luci hiccups and swipes at his eyes to try and stop the tears.

    Once Lucifer mostly composes himself more Dean decides it’s time to talk about the blonde’s behavior. He moves Luci around so that he’s sitting in front of him. Dean crosses his legs and Lucifer does the same.

      “Lucifer. I understand that you were upset and don’t like Chuck but we don’t act the way you did. We don’t try to hurt people and he don’t yell at them and we don’t tell people we hate them.” Dean keeps his voice even, there’s no reason to yell.

    “But I do hate him.”  

        “I know and you can hate him but you can’t yell at him and you can’t tell people you hate them.”

    “Why?”

        “Because it’s rude.”

    “You said telling the truth is good and I was telling him the truth, that I hate him.”

        Dean has to hold his laughter back. “The truth is good but you don’t need to tell someone you hate them. Walking up to someone and telling them you hate them is mean.”

     Lucifer huffs but nods.

        “Do you understand?”

    “Yes,” Lucifer grumbles not happy that he can’t tell people he hates them but understanding why he can’t, “but if someone asks me if I hate them and I do can I tell them?”

       He has to take a few seconds to think because he wasn’t expecting this question. “If someone asks you if you hate them and you do and find it necessary to tell them then yes you can tell them.”

    Happy with the answer Lucifer nods again then takes a breath. “Am I in trouble?”

       “Why would you be in trouble?”

    Lucifer is taken aback by Dean’s question as if he knows he’s being tested, and he probably does because he is a smart kid. “Because I hit you, yelled at you and called you names.”

      “And?”

   “And that’s bad.”

     “Why’s that bad?”

    “It was disrespectful but I was angry.” Lucifer tries to explain himself.

        “Is it okay to take our anger out on people?” Dean cocks his head slightly to the side.

   “No,” Lucifer hangs his head down, “I was mean and I’m sorry.”

          Dean claps and stands up, he lifts Lucifer up with him and hugs the boy tightly. “You’re not trouble, bud. Thank you for apologizing.”

~~~~~~~~

     Castiel kicks Chuck out. First he sends Michael to the kitchen to watch Raph and Gabe, then he kicks Chuck out. It sounds simple but it wasn’t. He told Chuck to get out but Chuck tired arguing saying that needs to talk to Lucifer. Castiel was _no_ t going to let that happen, not today anyway. They got into a bit of a spiff which ended in Castiel physically removing his father from his home. Chuck left in a huff, clearly angry but deciding this fight wasn’t worth it.

      Cas walks back into the house to see Dean and Lucifer coming down the stairs. Lucifer runs ahead of Dean and into the kitchen to eat his breakfast. The angel eyes Dean, silently asking what happened.

     “He freaked out. Threw a huge tantrum but I just let him have his meltdown then we talked about ti once he calmed down.”

         “What’d you say?”

      “I told him that he can’t try and hurt people or yell at people or tell people that he hates them. He understands and he apologized for taking his anger out on me.”

         Cas nods. “It’s weird it’s like he knew something was going to happen that would upset him, he was weepy all morning for no specific reason.”

     Dean hums in agreement as he walks to the kitchen so that he can also eat breakfast.

~~~~~~~~

         Since it’s the weekend and Dean has off from work Cas and Dean decided to have a day out with the boys. They are currently on their way to the zoo. Cas looks in the rearview mirror to look back at the kids. Raphael is reading a book, Gabriel is turning his fake steering wheel thinking he’s driving, Lucifer is coloring and Michael is drawing. He looks to Dean whose eyes are on the road but he’s singing along to the song on the radio. Cas looks out the window and watches the trees zip by. The only thing that’s on his mind is Michael.

      He’s getting worse. Michael can’t go more than five minutes with both of them not being in his line of vision. The boy has a panic attack simply walking past his bedroom, he has a panic or anxiety attack at least once a day. At this point Michael is mentally suffering and he and Dean are doing basically nothing, not to say they aren’t trying but at the end of the day they aren’t doing enough.

     Castiel reaches out and lays a hand on Dean’s wrist. Dean doesn’t react much to the touch until Cas communicates with the man through his mind. The green eyed man startles and screams ‘fuck’ in his head and looks to Cas confused.

      ‘Calm down. I need to talk to you and I the boys can’t hear it.’

    ‘I am not enjoying this.’

        ‘You’ll get over it.’

    ‘What’s going on?’

         ‘I think that Michael needs to see a therapist.’

    Total silence for a total of four minutes. Cas can feel the anger and sadness run through Dean, it bounces around inside of him like ping pong ball. He tightens his grip on Dean’s wrist he tries to the man back to reality he pours his feelings into his touch he tries to reassure Dean that he isn’t failing the boy’s without words.

       ‘We wouldn’t be able to take him to some normal human therapist.’

    ‘Agreed.’

        ‘Got any brilliant ideas on who to take him to?’

    ‘I’m still thinking about that part. I just wanted to see your feelings on it. I didn’t think you would be okay with it.’

        ‘I’m not happy about it but you’re right. He’s not getting better and me pitching a fit about it and saying we shouldn’t at least give it a shot is me not putting him first which is fucked up.’

     ‘You’re a good dad Dean.’

         Dean shrugs Castiel’s hand off of him. The man doesn’t bother to look at Cas he keeps his eyes on the road. Cas keeps his sigh of frustration in. Michael’s head peeks between the headrest and the side of the car.

       “Are you okay, Papa?” Michael whispers.

          “I’m great buddy,” Cas kisses his cheek, “are you okay?”

      “I’m happy.”

          “Really?” Not one part of Castiel was expecting that response.

    “Yeah.” With a small smile Michael leans back in his seat and goes back to drawing.

~~~~~~~~

        “Monster! Monster!” Gabriel screams and hides behind Dean’s legs.

           “It’s not a monster Gabriel it’s a peacock.” Dean laughs.

       “Monster!” Gabe starts scaling Dean in and an effort to get away from the peacock.

    Still laughing Dean lifts the two year old up and settles him onto his shoulders. Raphael takes a few pieces of dry popcorn from his box and throws them towards the peacock who gobbles them up. Cas, Lucifer, and Michael are all buying lunch so at the moment it’s just Dean, Raph and Gabe at the picnic tables with the peacock.

     Gabe runs his hands through Dean’s hair, messing it up. Raphael continues to feed the peacock which ends up luring more peacocks over to the picnic area. Cas and the boys come back to the picnic table with hamburgers, hotdogs and fries. Dean’s sure that Lucifer tried to convince Cas to get them sodas but judging by the sour look on Luci’s face Cas didn’t bend.

      When the group finishes lunch they continue to walk around the small zoo that consists of rescued animals. The zoo only has rescued animals, from horses to blind tigers, when you first come into the zoo you can buy dry unbuttered and unsalted popcorn to feed to the animals. Michael holds Raphael up so that he can throw some popcorn over to the pig. Lucifer keeps trying to run off so Castiel is holding onto the back the six year old’s shirt.

     “Maybe we should get him one of those backpack leashes.” Cas says as Lucifer tries to wriggle out of his shirt so he can run.

    Dean laughs as Castiel effortlessly lifts Lucifer onto his hip. Lucifer groans and falls flops backwards. It funny, not in the ‘haha’ hilarious kind of way but in the if you don’t laugh you might cry kind of way, people look at the six of them and just see a family. People probably think that their just a normal family with normal issues, issues that don’t matter at the end of the day because at the end of the day you’re truly happy. People look at Michael and see the oldest brother who smiles and loves his brothers, an eight year old that doesn’t have a care in the world. Nobody knows that really Michael puts on a mask because the emotional turmoil he’s going through is so massive that he doesn’t even understand it on all conscious levels.

      He shakes his head slightly. Dean shouldn’t be thinking about that right now, he should be focusing on his family. A particularly hard yank on his hair by Gabe brings him completely back to reality. Reality where Lucifer is trying to get out of Cas’ arms so that he can chase some pigeons, where Gabe is sitting on his shoulders so that the peacocks can’t get him, where Michael is helping Raphael feed a pig popcorn.

~~~~~~~~

     All of the kids are passed out in the backseat as they drive back home. Cas drums his fingers on his thigh, Dean grabs his fingers and intertwines them together.

         “What’s on your mind?”

    “Other than Michael?”

        “Other than Michael.” Dean keeps his grip on the angel’s hand.

    “I think we should plan a trip to Disney World.”

       Dean snorts. “What? Why?”

    “I think the boys would like it.” Castiel explains, he had thought it was obvious.

      “They’ve only seen one Disney movie.”

   “Well by the time we go they will have seen more than Tangled.” He doesn’t understand why Dean doesn’t seem to like the idea.

       “Disney is expensive.” Dean lets go of Cas’ hand for two seconds to wave his hand in a dismissive manner.

      “I’ve looked into it and it’s not that bad. Besides that’s a lame reason to not want to go. What’s the real reason?”

        “They don’t need to go.”

    “Try again.” Cas shakes his head.

        “Cas.” Dean sighs and pulls his hand away to rub it down his face, this time he doesn’t go back to holding Cas’ hand.

      “Dean. I’m not gonna let this drop because I want to take them to Disney World.”

        Dean scratches at his scruff and huffs. “I don’t like planes okay.”

   Castiel thumbs his lip in thought because he hadn’t been expecting that to be Dean’s reason. Everyone has at least one fear, he never would have thought that one of Dean Winchester’s would be planes. He clicks his tongue and turns in his seat to look at Dean.

      “Nothing would happen to a plane that would have an angel and four Archangel’s on it.”

   “That’s a good point but I don’t think it would make me feel any better once we were actually on the plane.”

      “Okay. Well we could drive there.”

   Dean scrunches his face into a semi pout. “Yeah. We can do that. We’ll do that.”

      Cas nods because at least they agreed on it, maybe Dean will change his mind but Castiel is going to start planning the trip anyway. He’s going to make sure that they get to Disney and he’s going to make sure that everyone is happy.


	20. Danielle and Disney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello loves. The first thing I have to say is that if you haven’t read my Before the Fall series you may not get the connection of water and Michael. I am probably going to write an explanation of it on on my tumblr but if you have any questions I always answer comments! Also I'm sorry if the wait for the update was long but I've felt very run down and been busy and haven't felt very inspired. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'm hoping to get some one shots up soon for the other series. I know I've been pretty absent and I really am sorry but I can't write if I'm drained and can't think of anything creative. Enough of me rambling I love you all very much you are what keep me going and I hope you understand xoxo  
> Love,   
> Mess

The sun falls across Michael’s face rousing him awake. He yawns and rolls over, usually Papa is next to him but when he reaches his arm out there’s nobody there. Michael reaches out to the other side but Daddy isn’t there either. He jolts upwards and frantically looks around the room which is completely empty. Immediately his heart starts racing, he tries to breathe the way the Daddy showed him but it doesn’t work. His heart is pounding against his chest like it’s trying to burst out. Michael takes a shuddering breath, it feels like no air makes it to his lungs. His eyes start to water at the same time a scream crawls up his throat.

      He hadn’t realized how loud he was screaming or the ferocity he had been crying until his ears are covered. Michael opens his blue eyes, the white’s not turning red, to see Papa sitting in front of him. He takes another racking breathe and launches himself into Papa’s arms.

    “It’s okay, you’re okay. I’m here. I’m right here, bear.” Papa runs his hands up and down his back and kisses the top of his head.

       Michael tries to breathe through the panic but he can’t think straight and a sob bubbles up. “I was alone! You left me all alone!” He cries into Papa’s chest.

    “I’m sorry bud. Gabriel needed me. I’m so sorry you woke up scared.”

          He can’t get out any other words because he’s crying too hard. Papa doesn’t let go as Michael sobs his heart out. All he can think about is that he was alone and anything could have happened when he was alone.

~~~~~~~~

     Castiel taps his fingers on the railing of the deck. The boys are playing in the backyard for recess, he’s watching Michael run around the yard laughing and playing with his brothers. It’s hard to think this is the same boy who had a total meltdown this morning because he woke up alone. He stops tapping and scratches his jaw, if Michael doesn’t get help soon he’s going to have a breakdown in front of his brothers and utterly scare them.

     Four days of searching for the right person to be Michael’s therapist have led to absolutely nothing. Sam, Dean and he have found no person that they trust. His phone buzzes in his pocket, keeping his eyes on the boys he pulls it out to see that it’s Samuel calling him.

      “Hello.”

    “Hey, Cas. I think I found someone for Michael.”

        “Really?”

    “Yeah. She’s a hunter’s, or well exhunter’s, wife. Her names Danielle and she’s been a therapist for hunters for over thirty years.”

      “Have you met with her?” Castiel watches Raphael fall and eat dirt, he doesn’t move because the boy hops up and continues to chase Lucifer.

     “Yes. I didn’t tell her the exact situation but she’s worked with traumatized children before. Both she and her husband are nice people. They live on the boarder of New Mexico and Texas. I give them the green light so if you and Dean want to give her a call I can give you her number.”

    “Yeah, yeah. I’ll talk to Dean when he gets home but we will at least give her a call.”

   Sam is clearly pleased with himself that he could be able to help one of his nephews, the pride in his voice is extremely evident as he rattles the number off to Cas. It makes Castiel happy to have Sam care about the boys the way he does. He knows that in the beginning Sam hadn’t understood or liked the situation but the four boys stole Sam Winchesters heart.

~~~~~~~~

     Michael _loses_ his shit. Dean did not expect this reaction, never in a million years would he have anticipated this reaction. All that Cas and he had done was sat Michael down on the couch and explained that they were going to take him to see a women that would help him feel safer in the house. Michael hadn’t completely understood what the two had meant, Cas elaborated that Michael would sit down with a nice women named Danielle and talk about what had happened in his room. That’s when Michael freaked the _fuck_ out.

     Dean ducks as a truck flies towards his face. He stands up in time to see Michael flip the coffee table over. Castiel scoops Michael up off the ground, Michael squirms and screams like he’s being murdered. Dean stands frozen in place not knowing how to deal with Michael’s rage.

    “I don’t need any help! I’m fine!” The fire behind Michael’s usually calm eyes doesn’t fit on an eight year olds face.

      “Take a breath, Michael. You need to calm down.”

   “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” Michael screams and twists trying to bite Cas’ arm.

        Dean would never get away with this behavior when he was a kid, John would have slapped him in the face as soon as he started screaming. His thought startles him enough to take a step backwards. John is not a parental figure in anyway and thinking of how he would react to this is just clouding his thoughts.

      Michael throws his leg out. “Put me down! Put me down, Castiel!” Angry tears are actively streaming down Michael’s face.

    An image of John pulling Dean over his lap morphs into one of Dean yanking Michael across his lap ready for a spanking. He looks away from the scene in front of him, his stomach twisting violently threatening to make Dean hurl. His feet stumble forward and lead him out of the living room, he shakily makes it to the Impala’s driver’s seat. Dean closes his eyes as he grips the steering wheel. Not once has he ever thought about John, or his parenting techniques, while being around the boys even when they misbehave. He would never actually do anything to the boy’s that John did to him but the fact that he thought about makes him want to punch himself in the face.

     When he opens his eyes there’s a full blown storm raging outside. It’s pouring rain, you know when it’s raining so hard that the rain is coming down sideways that’s how it’s raining. Lightening is lighting up the sky every few seconds which is causing an endless rumble of thunder. He knows it’s not possible, he doesn’t have enough power at the moment, but his first thought is that Michael’s anger is causing the storm. The thought half scares him because he knows that one day Michael will be able to do far worse than cause a storm, it also half sobers him because when the day comes that Michael will be able to do worse than cause an awful storm than Dean needs to get back into the house and teach the boy how to control his emotions.

     He walks back into the house to see Castiel trying to keep a grip on Michael as Lucifer and Raphael stand on the steps eyes wide in terror as they watch Michael scream and twist around.

    “I _HATE_ you! You’re not my dad! I HATE you both!” Michael throws himself forward with such force that Cas almost loses his grip.

      Raphael is now sobbing as Lucifer hugs the four year old and glares at Michael. Dean doesn’t know what to do. Not knowing at all if it’s the best choice he takes Michael from Castiel’s arms, Cas looks at Dean then to Lucifer and Raphael. The angel turns to the two younger ones as Dean walks to the back door. He struggles to open the door but manages. He sets Michael down on the deck and takes a step back.

   Michael looks up at the storm clouds then around the backyard before turning on his heel to look at Dean. As quickly as his face had hardened into anger it crumbles into sorrow.

     “I’m broken.” Michael whispers before falling to his knees and sobbing as hard as it’s raining.

   Dean sits next to Michael and pulls him onto his lap. Michael cries into his chest as the storm rages on around them. The boy’s tears mix with the rain until his entire face is wet and Dean can’t tell what’s tears or what’s rain streaming down his face. He doesn’t know how long they sit on the deck but neither of them move until Cas comes out to get them.

      The trio is silent, saved for Michael’s crying. Castiel helps them both change into dry clothes and then wraps them up in blankets. Dean and Michael are left alone in Dean and Cas’ room as Cas goes to get something. The angel comes back with hot chocolate for both Michael and Dean. Michael is slightly shaking as he wraps his hands around the mug. Cas sits on Michael’s other side, still saying nothing.

    “I’m sorry.” Michael sniffles.

  “We can talk about it in the morning.” Cas tells the boy as he runs a hand through Michael’s still damp hair.

     Dean takes a breath because he one hundred and ten percent positive that Castiel and he have fucked Michael up beyond repair.

~~~~~~~~

    Michael is sitting on his stool in the kitchen with Daddy and Papa on the other side of the island both looking at him. Guilt is flooding throughout him, he knows how he reacted was unacceptable. The thought of him talking to someone else because he needs help mad him angry, he doesn’t want to need any help.

   “I’m sorry for what I said and how I behaved.” He makes himself look at both of them even though he wants to duck his head and stare at the countertop.

      “Why did you act like that?” Papa asks.

  He shrugs. “I don’t know. I was mad.”

     “What made you mad?”

  “I don’t want help.” Michael’s eyes finally look down at the marble counter, he traces out patterns with his pointer finger.

     “Michael, there’s nothing wrong with getting help. No one can do everything by themselves.” Daddy’s voice is soft, it’s the voice he uses when he doesn’t want someone to be upset.

   “I don’t want to need help. I want to be normal.”

      Papa and Daddy are silent for a long time. He looks back up at them confused by their facial expressions.

    “Michael… there’s nothing wrong with you. What happened was something that would make anyone scared. We are going to get through this as a family.” Daddy reaches out to hold his hand.

       He nods, even though he doesn’t completely agree with what Daddy he said he also doesn’t feel like talking anymore.

    “We’re going to work on you handling your emotions too. Okay?” Papa takes his other hand.

          Michael nods. “Okay.”

~~~~~~~

      Daddy is going into work late so he and Papa are making breakfast. Michael heads upstairs to get his brothers up. Halfway up the stairs he sees Lucifer standing at the top of the stairs. Michael halts to a stop. Lucifer crosses his arms over his chest and stares at him.

    “You made Raphael cry last night.”

      His chest tightens. “I’m sorry.”

    Lucifer says nothing.

       “I am sorry. Lucifer I didn’t mean to do anything last night.”

    His brother doesn’t say anything as he pushes past him on the stairs. Michael frowns but knows that Lucifer just needs time. Michael climbs the stairs and heads to Raphael’s room. Raphael is already awake when Michael walks into his room. The silence stretches between the two of them.

     “Sorry I made you cry.”

    “You were scary.” Raphael rushes forward and hugs Michael, which confuses Michael but he still hugs his brother back.

       “I’m sorry.” Michael hugs Raphael as tightly as possible.

~~~~~~~~

      Cas is sitting in the office while Dean is with the boys. There’s Disney brochures and notes scattered everywhere while he tries to make plans for their trip. Dean hasn’t agreed to the trip yet but he knows that he will. He pushes away from the desk for a small break. Leaning back in the chair he reaches out to Balthazar.

      Castiel furrows his brows when he can’t find Balthazar. He expands his search for his brother but still feels nothing, he gets no response from the gray eyed angel. Cas stands up and runs a hand down his face then through his already mused hair. He can’t say he’s surprised, he should have known before know. Balthazar has a habit of running and hiding away. He should known because his brother hasn’t been around in over week. Balthazar ran and Castiel has no idea how long he’s going to be gone.

     There’s short knock on the door before Dean walks in. The man looks over everything that is on the desk and at the computer which has the Disney website up.

        “You really want to do this?” Dean picks up a pamphlet and starts looking through it.

    “I think that the boys will really love it. They’ll have a great time and it’s the break that they need, that we all need.”

       Dean nods and picks up another pamphlet. “Alright.”

    “Alright?”

        “Let’s go to Disney World.”

     Castiel smiles and walks around the desk to hug and kiss Dean. Dean smiles and lifts Cas slightly off the ground. Cas can hardly contain his excitement, he knows that the family is going to have and amazing time in Disney. Dean presses a kiss to Castiel’s neck to which Cas would love to respond to but he needs to start planning, there’s too much excitement bouncing around in his body. Gabe screams which draws Dean away with a groan.

      “Don’t hole yourself up in here too long.” Dean says as he walks out of the room to get Gabriel to stop screaming.

    He excitedly goes back to the computer and starts planning the trip. Castiel knows that this isn’t going to fix everything it’s not going to make everything disappear but he thinks that it will lighten the load that everyone is carrying.

~~~~~~~~

      Dean and Cas are in their bedroom on speaker phone with Danielle. Dean had been a bit suspicious of the women before they called her if he’s being honest. He thought that a hunter therapist was too good to be true. Danielle is legit though and he thinks she’s the best option they have for Michael. The fact that she’s willing on coming out to Texas so that she can be closer to the family, making everything easier for Michael and them. Castiel told her that she didn’t need to do that, they could figure something out. Danielle refused, she said that her husband and she have little houses everywhere and it was time to visit one of them. 

      “We can’t thank you enough, Danielle. We just want Michael to be okay again.”

    “No need to thank me. It’s my purpose in life.” Dean can hear the smile in her voice.

       They hadn’t told her the complete truth about the situation, Cas and himself aren’t going to go around telling people that they are raising the archangels. Danielle thinks that Cas and Dean are a couple that started a family and Dean’s past decided to come in and fuck up one of their children, which is almost true. They make an appointment for next week.

     Dean’s hopefully that therapy will work but he’s fearful that Michael will be worse in the end. He sees a lot of himself in Michael and he hates it. Michael is going to be better than him, he doesn’t need the baggage Dean has. Michael doesn’t deserve to go through the shit that Dean did. He wants to see none of himself in any of the boys.

~~~~~~~~

      Michael anxiously taps his foot on the floor. He has Papa on his right and Uncle Sam on his left. It’s his first therapy session and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen and that scares him.

They’re in a homey looking office that is about forty minutes away from their home. Daddy is at work and Aunt Camael is with his brothers. Michael bites his finger nails and looks around the room taking everything in. The sound of fabric rustling together draws his attention to the doorway on the right.

    A plump women steps out from the curtains, she immediately looks at Michael and walks over. She’s wearing a lot of jewelry that jingles as she walks and a flowy purple dress. Her smile is warm and gives no reason to make Michael feel uneasy, yet he does.

   “Hello, Michael. I’m Danielle it’s very nice to meet you. You’re fathers have told me all about you.” Danielle sticks her hand out for him to shake.

       With a firm grasp Michael shakes her hand and stands up. He looks to Papa briefly.

   “Hi.”

       “Do you want to come back with me and we can hang out, your Papa can come with us if you want.”

    “It’s okay. I can be by myself,” he tries to sound confident but looks back at Papa, “you’ll wait here?”

        “I’ll be right here the entire time, bear, I promise.” Papa pats him on the shoulder.

     Uncle Sam smiles and gives him a thumbs up as he follows Danielle through the curtains and down a short hallway to a room. The room is very colorful and full of toys. Michael makes his way to the only table in the room and takes a seat, Danielle sits across from him.

       “I would like to get to know you a little bit better Michael. Tell me about yourself.” Danielle folds her hands on top of the table.

     He shrugs. “Like what?”

         “Well let’s start simple. What’s your favorite color?”

    “Blue.”

         “Why do you like blue?”

     “I don’t know. I just do. It makes me happy.”

         “Good,” Danielle smiles, “what’s your favorite animal?”

     “I’ve never thought about it… I like owls. Their heads can turn around, and sharks are cool they never stop swimming. Oh those really cool salamanders, axolotls. Maybe I don’t have a favorite animal. Is that weird?”

        “No. That’s not weird at all. A lot of people don’t have favorite things.”

   He nods reassured. Michael starts tapping his fingers on the table. He’s not good at talking about himself, it makes him feel uncomfortable.

      “What do you like to talk about?”

   “My brothers.” The answer comes out faster than he can think.

       “Tell me about your brothers.”

     “I have three brothers. All of them are younger than me. There’s Lucifer he’s the second oldest, he’s six, he is always full of energy and is loudest. Then there’s Raphael, he loves to read and he’s only four but I know that he’s already a genius. Gabriel is the youngest but he’s the sweetest, he doesn’t talk much but he’s a sweetheart.”

   “You’re Daddy told me that you’re protective of them.”

         “I’m the oldest I have to keep them safe.”

   “Don’t your Daddy and Papa keep them safe?”

        “They do but if something happens to them it’s my fault.”

    “How would it be your fault? You can’t control things that happen.” Danielle moves one hand so that her chin is resting on it.”

       “They are my responsibility.” Michael pats his chest.

    “What does responsibility mean to you, Michael?”

         “Responsibility means being trusted and that if something happens it’s your fault.”

    “So would you rather have something bad happen to you than to one of your brothers?”

         “I don’t want anything bad to happen to them ever.”

    “Okay, so let’s play a bit of pretend. If someone came up to you and Lucifer and said he was going to punch one of you. What would you do?”

        “I would have them punch me.” H doesn’t have to think about his answer at all.

    Danielle nods but doesn’t say anything. Michael’s foot starts tapping again because maybe he said something wrong. He starts counting in his head, the way Daddy showed him, in an effort to calm down.

       “How does it make you feel to have the responsibility of your brothers?”

   “I don’t… what do you mean?”

        “Does it make you happy to feel responsible for them or does it make you feel stressed? How does it make you feel?”

     “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it. It just is what it is.”

         “Do you have anything else you want to say before we finish this session?”

   Michael shakes his head because he didn’t even have anything to say in the beginning. Danielle leads him out to the waiting room where Papa and Uncle Sam are still sitting. He hugs Papa tightly, Papa runs a hand through his hair as he stands up.

    “I need to talk to Danielle really quick bud.”

  Uncle Sam motions for him to come over to him. Michael sits on the large chair next to Uncle Sam who side hugs him. Uncle Sam doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t need to, he’s one of those people that shows everything they are thinking on their face. Since Daddy couldn’t come he’s glad that Uncle Sam could come with them. He’s surprised though because he knew Uncle Sam has had a lot of important things to do so he wasn’t expecting him to visit for a while. Papa says that Uncle Sam can’t stay away from his nephews because he loves us too much. Michael thinks that Uncle Sam doesn’t like to be alone but he likes Uncle Sam being around so he doesn’t question it much.

~~~~~~~~

     “So I hear that you guys are going to go to Disney.” Sam plops on the deck chair next to Dean.

   Dean side glances away from Gabe who is trying to catch a bird. “Yeah Cas really wants to take the boys.”

     “I think it will be a good for all of you. You’ll have a good time.”

  Dean smirks, he knows what Sam is getting at. “You want to come.”

      “Wh-what? No, no. It’s a family vacation.”

   “You’re a part of the family.” Dean says like Sam is a dumbass, because he is one.

       “If you’re inviting me then-“

    “Just go tell Cas that you’re coming.”

         Sam smiles and springs from the chair. His brother rushes into the house to tell his boyfriend that he wants to go to Disney World with them. Dean looks back to Gabe who has given up on catching the bird and is sitting on the grass watching a butterfly. The front door opens again, this time Michael walks out but instead of sitting in the chair next to him Michael sits on his lap.

     “How ya doing bud?”

   “I’m okay.” Michael shrugs.

      “How was therapy today?”

   “It was fine. Nothing really happened. She just asked what I like.”

       “Do you like Danielle?”

    “She’s nice.” Michael rests his head on Dean’s shoulder.

         The two sit in comfortable silence, watching Gabriel play in the front yard. Dean hugs his boy and relaxes because Michael is going to be okay, he’s going to make sure that he’s okay. As much as he isn’t excited about having to on a plane soon he’s excited to tell the kids and see their reactions, he know they really are going to have an amazing time there.


	21. Be Safe Samuel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! I have got to say that I was not expecting to update today yet here we are! I'm actually kinda in love with this chapter so tell me your thoughts! Send me paragraphs on it if you want I never mind I LOVE talking to y'all and hearing your thoughts. Let me just say though that this chapter is not at all what any of you were expecting, I think some of you will love it though. Also I gotta warn you that I am throwing a bromance at you, one that I'm not sure if it already exists but if it doesn't it do now!! Disney is the next chapter and it's gonna be a wild ride. This update is on the shorter side of what I usually do but beggars can't be choosers my darlings.   
> Love,  
> Mess

Sam runs inside the bunker and away from the rain, he shucks his coat off and jogs down the stairs. He passes the Hunter Hotline and sees that there twelve messages. The recently ex-hunter stops at the kitchen to get a bowl of pretzels and a beer then heads back to the main room and settles down to get ready and call people back.

  Sam never thought that he had taken Bobby for granted until he restarted the Hunter Hotline. It’s a lot of fucking work and he never thought that so many people had relied on Bobby and having the extra network. He doesn’t regret his decision he loves helping people but he was not expecting the hotline to blow up so fast.

   It takes four hours to call everyone back and that’s simply because of all the questions he has to answer and he has to do some research in the Men of Letters library. By the time he’s done he’s starving so he heads back to the kitchen. There’s nothing in the fridge and he has no idea why he’s surprised by that because he hasn’t been grocery shopping in over a month. He visited Dean for a week and has been home for almost three weeks. He doesn’t want to go back out in the storm but he’s hungry so he puts his jacket back on.

     On his way to a Mom and Pop burger shop he gets a call from Dean, he answers it with the Bluetooth on his car.

   “Hey man, what’s up?”

       “Hey, so the past couple of days Gabe has just been walking around saying ‘Sam’ over and over. Please talk to him.”

    He can hear the phone being passed over. “Sam?” Gabe asks, his voice slightly watery.

       “Hi, buddy. How are you?”

    Gabe is not the best at talking yet, something that stresses Cas out to the max, so the conversation that they have is Sam talking and pretending to understand the toddler’s babbling.

      “I’m going to visit again in a couple of weeks, little guy.”

     “Now.”

         “I can’t come down now.”

      “Nooooow.” Gabriel whines.

          “I’m sorry Gabe. I can’t come down yet.”

      Sam can perfectly imagine Gabe’s pouting face. He hears the phone be passed around again.

         “Thanks, Sam.”

     “I don’t think I really helped.”

         “Trust me you did. He just likes hearing your voice.”

     The brothers say their goodbyes, Sam still not believing he helped the situation any.

~~~~~~~~  

    Sam is organizing the library, which is incredibly tedious and boring work but it must be done. Doing such boring work makes one’s mind wonder. He’s thinking about the one thing he hasn’t stopped thinking about for weeks. Family. Sure he has one, it’s Dean, Castiel and the boys but they’ve become his extended family. Dean has made his own family and he hasn’t left Sam behind but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t feel lonely. How can one not feel lonely while living in a bunker made to fit twenty people all by oneself?

     There was a time in his life that Sam knew creating his own family was inevitable. It was just going to be a checkpoint in his life. Now though, he hasn’t thought about creating his own family for years, for so long he had accepted that it wouldn’t happen. Samuel Winchester wasn’t meant to get married or have children. Maybe that’s not actually true because he never thought Dean Winchester was going to have a family.

   Dean’s different though. As the years went on and they continued to hunt Sam was just waiting for the day Dean quit the game to make a family. He could see a future father in Dean, he could see a good father in his brother. He doesn’t see a good father in himself. He doesn’t see himself falling in love, who could he possibly put his trust into? He lost Jess, he was betrayed by Ruby he-

     “Oh come on. Where you really surprised by that? She was a fucking demon, Samuel.”

   Sam jumps back, his back hits the bookcase behind him. He looks up to see Balthazar laying in the ‘paint me like one of your French girls’ poses on top of the bookcase he was working on.

     “What are you doing here? And were you reading my thoughts?”

   “I came to have a bit of fun. Also yes and man are they some damn depressing thoughts.”

      “You can’t just read someone’s thoughts, Balthazar! That’s an invasion of privacy!”

   “Do you want me to say sorry? Because I’m not but I’ll say it.” The pest of an angel pours himself a glass of whiskey.

      Sam rolls his eyes and stuffs the pile of books next to him on a random shelf. “What do you want from me?”

    “I told you,” Balthazar drinks the glass of whiskey in one gulp, “I want to have fun.”

        “So you came here?”

    “I must admit you are a very self-aware creature, Samuel. You’re not the most fun, but I’m a riot so we’ll have a good time.”

       He can already feel the headache forming behind his eyes. “I don’t have time for thi-“ Sam is cut off by Balthazar touching his shoulder and the yank he feels on his feet as the angel flies them out of the bunker.

    They land inside an art museum, probably the last place Sam was expecting to end up in.

     “Ever been to The Louvre, Samuel?”

   “I’m not really in the mood to go on a bender, Balthazar.”

       “Who said anything about a bender? Besides you wouldn’t be able to keep up with my bender, you’d be dead less than ten hours in.” Balthazar starts walking away.

    Having no other choice but to follow the gray eyed angel Sam trails behind. They don’t actually look at anything in the museum as they leave it. Before he knows it the pair is on the street in Paris and Balthazar is dragging him by the hand down the sidewalk. They end up in a clothes shop, Sam doesn’t think that’s an accident.

   After an hour in the shop they leave. Sam now dressed in tan slacks and a light blue button down, Balthazar wearing the same thing as always. Balthazar said that he refused to be seen walking around Paris with someone wearing a flannel.

    Balthazar is silent as he leads the way down the street. Sam has about million questions and knows he’s going to have a million regrets by the time this is over but nothing too crazy has happened yet, so he’ll just follow the alcoholic angel around Paris for now.

  This time they end up at a fancy restaurant. As soon as the hostess sees Balthazar she ushers the pair to likely one of the best tables in the restaurant, they aren’t given any menus as Balthazar orders for both of them. As Balthazar is placing the order a tiny man walks up with two bottles of wine and two glasses, the man says nothing as he places the bottles on the table. The waitress walks away with the order silently.

     “Come here often?” Sam can’t help the small smirk that pulls on his lips.

   “First time ever.”

        Sam laughs loudly, too loudly for such a fancy place but no one says anything to him or even give him a weird look. When he stops laughing he can see a smug glint in Balthazar’s eye. Balthazar pours them both a glass of red wine while keeping an eye on Sam.

~~~~~~~~

  Sam wakes up in Italy with a girl on each side of him. The sun is starting rise, he stretches out on the slightly too small bed before wiggling out of the bed. He pulls on the white rob that’s laying on the armchair. Balthazar is sitting in the kitchenette smoking a joint.

     “Told you that you’d have a good time with me.”

  “I hardly remember last night.”

     “Shame. Sounded like a fun time.”

  Sam ducks his head into the fridge to hide his blush. He tries to think back to last night but all he gets is blackness, the last thing he remembers is getting lunch in Florence. If he’s going to be completely honest with himself he doesn’t even know they are still in Florence.

    “We’re not. We’re in Rome.”

   Sam shoots up and closes the fridge door. “Stop doing that.”

     “Maybe,” Balthazar hopes off the counter, “probably not. Now get dressed, we’re going to breakfast then the colosseum then to Vince! Or maybe Milan.”

    He heads back to the room with the two sleeping girls. It’s been four days, four not totally horrible days. Sam does feels slightly bad though, the Hotline has been left unattended. He made a promise to help people and for four days he’s left people with no explanation. No one’s called his cell though, sure he’s kept in contact with Dean through texts, not telling his brother everything of course, but no calls from other hunters to ask what the fuck.

     Quickly and quietly he gets changed. He and Balthazar meet back in the living room. They go to breakfast at a quaint café then to the colosseum. The pair spend the afternoon in Vince and the night in Milan. When he wakes up in the morning there’s no girls on the bed next to him and he has a better relocation of the night before. Slowly he sits up on the luscious bed, Balthazar is sitting in the bay window. The morning sun engulfs the angel, Sam’s first thought is that not many people get say the saw and angel chain smoking on a windowsill in Milan.

      “Why would you want to have children?” Balthazar asks but doesn’t turn his head to look at Sam.

   His mind reels at the question. It takes him a little bit to process what was asked and to come up with an answer.

     “When I was younger I just always thought I would follow the American Dream. Getting married and having kids is what you do.”

    “Is it what you actually want?”

       “I… don’t know.”

   “Maybe you should figure that out before throwing yourself a never ending pity party because you haven’t achieved that American Dream.” Another cigarette is lit.

      Sam huffs a laugh. “You’re right.”

   “Why would you ever want to be tied down to one person, to one place, doing one thing for the rest of your short life, when you can do this?”

      “Travel around the world with you?” Sam raises his eyebrows in shock and confusion.

 “You’ve been having a good time haven’t you?”

      Sam says nothing, he’s not sure what to say. Balthazar doesn’t look at him expecting an answer instead the angel continues to smoke and look out the window.

    “I can’t just leave my life behind.” It’s not an answer and he knows it.

  “Not much of a life to leave.”

      He should be insulted but he isn’t. Maybe because he thinks the same thing. Probably because a large part of him doesn’t want to go back.

    “I like visiting Dean and the boys.”

   “Who says you wouldn’t be able to?”

     “Hunters need me.”

   “They’ve managed for centuries without you. You owe no one anything.”

      He takes a breath and tries to slow his thoughts down. He doesn’t know what he wants. It’s like a Robert Frost poem is playing out in real life in front of him.

    Balthazar opens the window a crack and throws his half smoked cigarette out it. The angel stands and stretches, Sam just now notices that Balthazar isn’t wearing a shirt.

     “You don’t need to decide now, or even today. It’s just something to think about. And I know how much you love to think.”

   Sam half scowls at the retreating figure. He lays in bed for about ten minutes thinking about everything that was just presented to him. When he head starts hurting he decides it’s time to get a shower.

~~~~~~~~

    “Where the fuck are you?”

  “Hello to you too.” Sam jokes to Dean.

     “I’m not fucking around, Sam. Garth is at the bunker right now and he says you’re not there. You haven’t been answering the Hunter Hotline for like five days. So where the fuck are you?”

    “London.”

  “What the fuck? What the _fuck._ Why are you in fucking London? How long have you been there?”

     “Only a day. I’m fine Dean. You don’t need to worry about me.”

   “Obviously I do since you randomly flew off to London and didn’t tell anyone.”

       “I just needed a break.” Sam walks out onto the balcony of the hotel room Balthazar and he are staying at.

    “A break from _what?_ Sam are you okay?” The confusion in Dean’s voice is thick, Sam doesn’t know what to tell his brother.

      “I’m great. Better than I have been in months actually.” He looks down at the busy street below him.

   “What’s going on dude? Talk to me.”

        “Dean, seriously you don’t need to worry about me. I’m okay. I just… I had to get away for a little bit. I need to figure out what I want with my life.”

     “What do you mean? Why did you have to go to London to think?”

       “You’ve always known what you wanted Dean. You’ve always wanted to start a family and before that you wanted to be a hunter. I never wanted to be a hunter, I don’t know if I want to start a family. I have no idea what I want. I do know that I don’t want to live in a goddamn musty bunker for the rest of my fucking life until my liver fails me though.” He hangs up because he doesn’t want to continue this conversation with Dean, he doesn’t want to fight with his brother right now.

      He closes his eyes and can see Dean looking at his now silent phone annoyed then turn to Cas who was standing next to him the entire conversation. He can almost hear Castiel’s voice reassuring his brother that Samuel’s okay he just needs space and time, as if he’s an angst teen or some shit. Sam opens his eyes and comes back to the reality of the busy city around.

    Sam slips his phone in his pocket and licks his lips. With one last look around he turns on his heel and goes back inside the hotel room. He grabs his jacket off the back of the couch and walks over to Balthazar who is waiting by the door. They’re going to lunch then a musical. Together the pair walk outside where it’s started raining. Balthazar pulls an umbrella out of nowhere. This time bracing a rain storm Sam doesn’t hate his life.

~~~~~~~~

    The Disney trip is in one week. Sam and Dean’s conversations have been minimal and only over text, but Sam’s still going to Disney with his nephews. Florida seems much less exciting now that he’s been all over Europe. He’s still excited to go only because he loves being around his nephews and can’t wait to see how much of a great time they have.

      Sam looks out the open backdoor to see Balthazar swimming in the crystal clear ocean. They’ve been in Greece for three days its Sam’s favorite place they’ve been so far in the week and a half of travels. Sam just wishes Balthazar wouldn’t insist on swimming naked, other than that it’s been amazing. He’s loved every second of Greece. He thinks as he munches on the fresh salad that he made. The ex-hunter thinks he’s made his decision.

    Traveling with Balthazar is something he’s never experienced before, something he knows he could never experience with anyone or thing else. It’s something that he doesn’t want to end anytime soon. He has absolutely no idea why Balthazar choose Sam to be the one to bring along on his traveling but he’s happy that the angel choose him. He also doesn’t know why Balthazar likes being around him but he’s not going to question it. The time he’s spent with Balthazar has been the best time he’s had in a fucking long time.

      “Continue to think that hard and something up there is going to pop.” Balthazar motions to Sam’s head.

   “Oh, come on man! Put something on.” Sam covers his eyes with both his hand, his fork clatters to the tiled floor.

      Balthazar only laughs in response. Sam opens his eyes when he hears Balthazar’s footsteps walk away from the kitchen. When he finishes his salad he laces up his sneakers to go on a run. Balthazar walks into the living now wearing only a pair of boxes, a pair that Sam is fairly certain are his. He rolls his eyes but says nothing.

    “Only you would be a health nut on vacation.” Balthazar drawls while pulling a cigarette out of a carton.

      “Can’t really call it a vacation if there’s no foreseeable end.”

   Balthazar raises an eyebrow, his lips pursed around the end of his cigarette. “Does that mean what I think it does?” He blows the smoke out of his nose.

      “What do you think it means?”

   “That after your family Disney trip,” the angel’s nose scrunches when he says ‘family Disney trip’, “you’re going to come crawling back to me.”

        Sam takes the cigarette from Balthazar’s fingers and throws it on the tile then stomps it out. “It means I’m taking you up on your offer.”

     Balthazar smiles as he pulls another one out. He doesn’t say anything else as he walks out of the bungalow. Sam stretches on the shore side before going for his run. His favorite place to run is the beach, something he never got to do often but has been relishing in for the past few days.

~~~~~~~~

    They’re at the airport because Balthazar doesn’t want travel back to the states. Sam doesn’t care about flying and doesn’t mind going on a plane instead of having Balthazar zap him around everywhere. He doesn’t know why Balthazar came with him to the airport, he’s perfectly capable of being here by himself.

    Sam and Balthazar get to the point where the angel can’t silently follow the ex-hunter anymore. The tall man stops and turns to say a quick goodbye. He doesn’t actually know what to say so he’s planning on just says ‘Bye’ or ‘see you later’.

    Balthazar beats him to the punch. “Be safe.” In the blink of an eye the angel is gone.

  Stupidly he looks around as if he’ll see Balthazar hiding behind a magazine rack. Thinking about the strange goodbye that just happened he continues to walk through the airport so he can go through security. Why the hell does Balthazar care about his safety? Honestly Sam has no idea and doesn’t know what to think of it so he just won’t think about it.

    As he sits on the plane waiting for takeoff he starts thinking about Disney and the great time everyone’s going to have. Then he starts thinking about the inevitable of Dean trying to talk to him, which usually he wouldn’t mind Sam’s usually the one trying to get Dean to talk but he’s just not in the mood. Then he starts thinking about the end of the trip and being back with Balthazar. He thinks about all the places Balthazar is going to go to in the next seven days. He wonders if Balthazar is going to have another person with him. He thinks about all the places they’ll go when Disney is over.

    Never in his lifetime did Samuel Winchester think he would be traveling around the world at all. Never in a million years did he ever think he would be traveling with an angel, especially with Balthazar. Life’s a crazy ride though and Sam’s ready to ride it out until the end, hopefully the end won’t come because he sold his soul.


	22. Dangerous Disney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves you should check out the end notes!  
> Love, Mess

    Dean is over it. Having four small children in an airport has got to be the most annoying thing in the world. What makes the whole thing better is that it’s four in the fucking morning because Castiel is a genius. Not only does he want to punch Cas in the face but he wants to slip Lucifer a sleeping pill because the six year old has _not_ stopped screaming. Sam senses that Dean’s incredibly annoyed so he ushers Lucifer to the bathroom saying something about needing to wash his hands.

     Both Raphael and Gabe are sleeping. Dean is holding Raphael and Michael is holding Gabe. Cas went to get him a coffee ten minutes ago so Dean thinks that the angel is lost. Still holding onto Gabe, Michael crawls into his lap. Now Dean has three out of his four children sleeping or half sleeping on him. He looks around the waiting area that they’re in, there’s not that many people around since it’s four in the morning.

    He sees Cas walking over to them carrying two coffees. Dean would be happy but both of his arms have fallen asleep because of all the dead weight on him.

   “Did you get lost?”

   “Actually, yes.”

      Dean snorts and half smiles as he rests his head on Michael’s. Cas takes a seat to Dean’s right and puts the coffees on the small table between them. The angel slowly maneuvers Gabe out of Michael’s arms, Cas holds Dean’s hand and runs his thumb across the knuckle. There’s still thirty minutes until they can board the plan and Dean knows he’s not going to be able to feel his arms by the time that time comes.

~~~~~~~~~

     Sam carries Gabe on his shoulders as they walk into Disney. Dean is holding Raphael and Michael’s hand. Castiel is holding onto the back of Lucifer’s shirt because the blond keeps trying to run forward and away from the group. The first place they go is Tomorrowland. The only thing that Sam continuously thinks as they walk around is that Lucifer should have one of those backpack leashes on.

    They head back to the hotel around two o’clock so that everyone can take a nap. Lucifer and Gabe saw they want to go to Sam’s room with him to take their nap. Gabe curls up on Sam’s chest and Lucifer is on his left side.

    Sam ends up waking up earlier than the kids, he blindly grabs for his phone. He presses the home button mostly just to check and see if Dean texted him or called but instead he has about ten messages from Balthazar and two missed calls. Curious he unlocks his phone and goes to the messages first.

 **Balth** : **I have next week planned.**

**Balth: You better be ready to party**

**Balth: I hope you won’t be hung up on family shit after your week of children**

**Balth: If you’re whiny bitch again after this week I’m banning you from being around them for that long**

**Balth: Holy shit the human race has gotten boring..**

**Balth: I heard an alligator at Disney ate a child.. don’t let that happen.**

**Balth: Have you ever been to Hawaii?**

**Balth: Have you ever been to the Caribbean?**

**Balth: I’m going to assume not because you’ve only been to places that grow corn**

**Balth: I just found a dog**

   All of the texts came within a thirty-five minute time span. Sam maneuvers Gabe off of him and wiggles his arm away from Lucifer. He walks away from the bed but keeps it in his line of vision. He calls Balthazar back and gets no answer. Half annoyed he calls Dean instead to see if his brother is awake.  Dean doesn’t answer either so he gets his laptop out of its bag starts answering some emails that have piled up.

   His phone dings it is a picture from Balthazar of a large shaggy dog. Instead of opening the message he calls Balthazar again. This time the angel does answer.

    “What are doing?” Sam asks as soon as he hears that Balthazar picked up.

  “I found a female dog give her a name.”

      “You’re keeping a dog?”

   “Yes, she’s very friendly and has no home.”

       “I’ll try to think of something and text you.”

    “Okay. Anything crazy happen there yet?”

        “Not yet.”

     “Alright bye.”

      Sam feels just as confused by Balthazar as he has for the past three days now. When he puts his phone down he gets a text from Dean to get the kids up and meet them down in the lobby. It takes a total twenty minutes before the trio even leaves Sam’s room. This time when they arrive at Magic Kingdom they head to the line to meet Mickey.

    They spend about four hours meeting characters which sounds boring but seeing all of the kid’s reactions makes it worth it.

  The family is eating dinner is Cinderella’s castle and that’s when Sam has a crisis. The adults are having a casual conversation and the boys minus Gabe are talking about their favorite princess they met so far. Somehow hunting gets brought up. Dean mentions that they haven’t heard from Garth in a while and should probably check in on him.

    “I wonder what Balthazar is up to.” Cas says dismissively.

  Sam tries not to tense, or show any reaction to Cas’ words. “What do you mean?” He tries not to stare at his plate.

    “I haven’t heard from him in weeks. No one knows where he is. You haven’t heard from him right?” The way Castiel asks Sam knows that Cas just now thought to question the taller Winchester about Balthazar but it doesn’t stop Sam’s heart from racing.

   He looks up from his food and focuses on not wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. “No.”

  If Balthazar hasn’t old Cas where he is hen it’s not Sam’s place to tell him. He feels bad for lying to Castiel though.

      “He’ll turn up.” The angel doesn’t sound worried as he turns to Gabe who is getting ready to throw a carrot at Raphael.

    Sam is incredibly aware of his body for the next two minutes. He doesn’t want to do anything that’s going to give away his lie to Dean. By some miracle he makes it through dinner. The boys end up being so exhausted that they have to be carried back to the hotel. Dean carries Michael, Castiel carries Gabe and Sam carries Raphael and Lucifer.

~~~~~~~~

    Its midnight when Dean lifts himself out of the pool. Cas is in the room with the kids and Sam is reading by the pool. Knowing perfectly well that the next ten minutes aren’t going to go well he dries himself off then takes the seat next to his little brother.

  He wishes that he didn’t worry about Sam. That he didn’t think Sam had gotten himself into some stupid shit with a fucked up girl, but that fits Sam’s track record. His brother has been acting like a different person, he’s been acting like the type of person he is when he’s with a shifty girl.

     “When you said that you were going to stop hunting I wasn’t expecting you to go awol.”

  Sam slowly closes his book and places it on the table next to him, he doesn’t look over at Dean.

     “If you have something to say Dean than say it.”

  Dean shrugs. “I ain’t got nothing to say,” he pauses, “are you with a girl?”

     “No.” The response is quick.

   “You’re not with anyone?” Dean tries to keep the disbelief out of his voice.

 “What do you mean?”

     “You’re not fucking someone and following them blindly all over.” He gets to the point.

  Sam has the audacity to snort. “No.”

       “Oh yeah crazy of me to think because it’s not like you’ve never done that before.”

   “I’m an adult Dean. I can make choices for myself.”

        “I’m not saying you can’t.”

    “Then what are you saying?” Sam tosses his legs over the side of the chair and looks at him.

       “I’m saying that I don’t want you to end up in some fucked up shit because you couldn’t think something through.”

    “Did you think through taking care of four fucking Archangel’s?”

       “That’s not the same.” Dean scoffs and shakes his head.

   “How? Please explain to me how it’s any fucking different? You dove in head first with starting a goddamn family. You left your whole fucking life behind without a second thought. You ran off to play house with Cas and didn’t take one millisecond to think about it.”

      “That’s not true.” He grips the arms of his chair.

   “Bull-fucking-shit. Don’t sit there and judge me for deciding to do something with my life that I didn’t sit and meticulously plan or even expect to ever do. Don’t sit there and be a goddamn hypocrite because frankly I don’t have the time for your shit.” Sam stands up with more force than needed, the kind of force you use when you’re ready to punch someone.

     “Me caring about you is shit?” Dean doesn’t stand but he throws his legs over the side, sits the way Sam just was.

    “No you caring when you think I’m doing something stupid is shit. Because the only reason you think I’m doing something stupid is because it’s something you don’t think I should be doing. Because you don’t know every single thing I’m doing or up to you think I got myself caught up in some crazy shit.”

    “That’s not true,” he stands up with much less force than Sam did, “get over yourself, Sam-“

   “No Dean! You get over yourself! Everyone in your life is not your responsibility! You’re not everyone’s dad, technically you’re no ones.”

      Dean unclenches his fists. He knows that Sam’s just being an asshole and he can’t take what he’s brother is saying personally.

    “I don’t want to fight.” He grits through his teeth.

     “Dean, I’m happy. For months I’ve been living in the bunker by myself. I was lonely, bored and honestly I was fucking sad all the time. I’m happy now with what I’m doing, why can’t you just accept that?” Sam doesn’t wait for Dean to say anything, instead he uses his long legs to quickly walk away.

~~~~~~~~

    Sam completely ignores Dean all morning. He doesn’t act like he’s mad or anything but he doesn’t say one word to Dean. Cas doesn’t notice because of how casual both Winchester’s are acting about it but dean can feel the annoyance radiating off his brother.

     He doesn’t make any effort to talk to Sam. Dean’s going to give his baby brother some space, when Sam gets over it he’ll talk to him. He steps forward, he and Lucifer are in line to get everyone’s lunch. The six year old is going to help him carrying everything back to the table that the others are waiting at. Dean looks down to ask Lucifer if he decided what he wants to eat. His heart stops. Lucifer isn’t next to him, he looks to his other side and comes up empty.

   Dean leaves the line and looks throughout the restaurant. Nothing. Lucifer isn’t anywhere. Before he gets himself too worked up he checks the bathroom but comes up empty handed again. He rushes out to the outside eating area where the rest of the family is. Cas notices him running over and stands up.

    “What’s wrong?” Cas asks as soon as Dean is close enough to hear.

  His adrenaline is rushing and his heart is pumping so fast that he’s already out of breath. “Lucifer. I can’t find him.”

     “What?” Michael’s voice is loud.

   “Okay, let’s not panic. He couldn’t have gotten far-“

      “Unless someone took him.” Dean deadpans as he cuts Sam off.

    “What?!” Michael screams and stands up on his chair.

       “Let’s _not_ panic. We’ll split up. I’ll take Gabe, Cas take Raphael and Dean and Michael look together.”

    Dean nods and takes a breath, Sammy’s right they have to stay focused. The group splits up and goes looking on different directions of Epcot. As he and Michael head toward Paris the eight year old has a death grip on his hand. The point pf the Disney trip was to hopefully help Michael not feel anxious for a week, this will definitely help. Dean wants to punch himself in the fucking face.

~~~~~~~

    Since Gabe is only two and does not understand the meaning of urgency or emergency, he had to stop and get him a Mickey ice cream bar. So with a two year old on him hip eating ice cream Sam ties not to look too frantic as he looks around Japan. Cas said that he couldn’t pin point where Lucifer is because there’s too many children’s thoughts that are similar and Lucifer’s limited grace acts as a type of mask which blends him in with the other children he’s around. Which means it would be pointless to call Balthazar and ask for help.

     Sam crosses over the border to Morocco then someone pulls on his elbow. He looks over to see Balthazar whose brows are furrowed, almost as if he’s concerned.

    “What are you doing here?”

   “Your panicked thoughts were making it hard to focus so I came here to see what the hell your problem is.” Balthazar runs a hand through Gabriel’s hair.

      “You could hear my thoughts?”

   “Yes. Now what the fuck is your issue?”

       “We can’t find Lucifer, he went missing.”

   Balthazar stills at the same time that all the color from his face drains.

      “Are you serious?”

   “Because that would be a funny joke?”

     Silently Balthazar drags him out of the middle of the walkway. Balthazar doesn’t let go of Sam’s hand once they are out of everyone’s way. With his left hand, the one not holding Sam’s, he touches the gold chain around his neck. Sam stares at the angel like he’s lost his mind because he truly thinks Balthazar has gone insane in four seconds.

  “Found him.” Balthazar starts pulling him in the direction of Italy.

     “What how?”

   “It’s a long story. Kind of. Whatever, I’ll tell you later.”

       Balthazar keeps a tight grip on Sam’s hand and the other hand on his necklace. They maneuver throw the hordes of people, and maybe knock over a few innocent bystanders.  Sam’s mouth goes completely dry when he sees a tall dark haired man wearing tan shorts and a blue polo carrying a knocked out Lucifer. The women next to the man is carrying a backpack, clearly a couple.

     “Hey!” Sam shouts and passes Gabe off to Balthazar, he rips his hand away from the angel so that he can pick up his pace.

   “Hey!” he screams again, “that’s my fucking nephew!”

       The large man looks over his shoulder before he starts running. Fuck no. Sam starts running like his life depends on it. The women that was walking next to the man who has Lucifer grabs his arm. He pushes her away with so much force that she crashes to the ground and her head smacks onto the concrete. Sam hears a crack but doesn’t stop, he keeps his eyes locked on the dark blue polo.

   “Stop him! Stop that man in the polo! That’s not his kid! It’s my nephew!”

      He has sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach that the thing that has Lucifer isn’t a monster, at least not a supernatural one, rather the human kind. Sam is about two arm lengths away from the man when he does something that the ex-hunter wasn’t expecting. The man makes a sharp turn in the direction of the water. Sam tries to pick of the pace but the man gets to the water’s edge first and almost effortlessly throws Lucifer over the fence and into the water. Screams overtake his hearing but he doesn’t focus on that.

    Sam hops the fence and launches himself into the water. Lucifer has already started sinking since he’s unconscious. He doesn’t pause for a second, immediately diving under the cold water. Luckily he finds Lucifer easily. Sam grabs his nephew and swims back to the surface. Balthazar is already at the water’s edge still holding Gabe. Balthazar holds his free arm out for Sam and helps pull him back onto land.

     The tall Winchester starts doing CPR because he knows that water must be in Lucifer’s lungs. After what feels like years Lucifer finally coughs up about three cups worth of water but he doesn’t wake up. Lucifer falls back, limp. Sam can feel a pulse though so he can somewhat breath again. It feels like Sam’s entire body is shaking and it just might be because his hands are.

      Balthazar takes his right hand in his own. Sam feels slightly more grounded but he still feels a little floaty as he tries to process everything that just happened.

~~~~~~~~

    Cas stands back with Michael and Raphael so that the boys don’t see whatever lies ahead through the crowd. Dean pushes his way through everyone, when gets about five feet away from the fence that blocks people from the water he is stopped by an officer.

     “Sir, you can’t go any farther.”

   He sees Sam’s back and looks at the ground to see an unconscious Lucifer being check by an EMT. The green eyed man thinks he’s going to throw up all over the officer if he opens his mouth.

    “That’s my fucking son!” He manages to not hurl and pushes the officer out of his way.

 Dean jumps the fence and takes one step before his legs give out on him. His throat closes and his eyes blur, he doesn’t know if Lucifer is breathing he can’t tell.

     That’smysonthat’smysonthat’smyson. Is playing on a loop in his mind. A hand drops on his shoulder, he looks up to see Sam or partly see Sam because his vision is so blurry.

   “He’s going to be okay, Dean.” Sam starts helping him stand up.

      Dean takes the largest breath of his life. It’s like a one ton weight is taken off his chest. Sam gets him up on his feet but Dean collapses into Sam. His brother holds him up easily, and Dean knows that he must look like a goddamn sissy but he can’t help crying he thought his son was dead and it would have been his fault if he was.

    He can hear the sound of people talking but doesn’t register anything over the sound of his blood pumping in his ears and his own crying.

~~~~~~~~

   Dean doesn’t know what to do. He can’t remember the last time he felt this lost. Cas is at the hotel with Michel, Raphael and Gabe probably lying his ass off about what’s going on. Sam and for some reason Balthazar are at the police station telling officers what happened. Dean is at the hospital with Lucifer. Lucifer is still unconscious but the doctor said that everything’s going to be fine, they just need to flush the drugs out of his system.

     He leans back in his chair and runs a hand down his face. All he can think about is how messed up Michael and Lucifer are going to be after this, he has no idea what to do to make this entire ordeal not completely fucking awful for them. He starts biting on his thumb nail and tries to think of something.

    “Well I must say I did not think a child trafficker would try to steal one of them while at Disney World.” Chuck says while looking at Lucifer sleeping.

   Dean stands up. “What are you doing here?”

       “I’m going to fix this sticky mess that no one saw coming.”

    “Wait, Chuck. I don’t want you to erase their memories we can-“

        “Too late.” Chuck snaps his fingers.

     In the blink of an eye everyone is back in Cas and Dean’s hotel room. All of the boys are now sleeping on their bed. Sam and Balthazar are standing by the door. Balthazar goes from looking confused to furious in the matter of three seconds.

      “What. The. Fuck.” Balthazar glares at Chuck.

   “I have to agree with Balthazar. What just happened?” Cas eyes his father suspiciously.

       “Chuck erased the kids memories about what happened today.”

    Dean’s answer is met with silence, which is not the reaction he was expecting at all.

       “Is that such a bad thing? Today was fucked.” Sam cautiously asks.

   “I also killed the human traffickers and erased the bystander’s memories and the police.” Chuck further explains.

      “Seems like the best solution to me.” Balthazar shrugs with a scowl still on his face.

    Dean looks to Cas for his thoughts on what happened.

      “I think it’s best for the boys to not remember what happened today.”

   “Okay, well I don’t think it’s morally right but it is probably better that if they don’t have to remember what happened today that they don’t.”

      “Exactly. Glad we could agree.” Chuck claps dean on the back before leaving.

   Silence falls between the adults and they all stare at each other. Balthazar takes a step back and runs into the door.

      “Balthazar, what are you doing here?” Castiel questions his brother.

  “I heard your panicked thoughts so I came to help.”

      “Thank you.”

    Dean senses that Cas wants to say much more than thank you to Balthazar but Cas also doesn’t like confrontation when it’s not needed.  

    “Well I’m gonna go.” Balthazar leaves as quickly as he appeared.

   “I’m going to go sleep. Hopefully tomorrow won’t be so weird.” Sam nods and leaves the room going to his own.

~~~~~~~~

   The family walks out of the airport, the rest of the Disney trip actually went by pretty flawlessly and was an amazing time for the boys and the adults. Dean, Cas and the boys go to the right where their car is parked. Sam said he had a cab picking him up so he stays where he is, really Balthazar is going to get him.

    “Sam,” Cas pulls his attention away from his phone, “I know you and Balthazar and traveling together.”

   “What? Cas I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even know where he is.”

        “You sweat a lot when you lie. Sam I don’t care and I won’t tell Dean unless he asks but just be careful Balthazar isn’t the most reliable.”

     “Cas trust me-“ Cas doesn’t stay to listen to Sam’s scrabbling lies.

          He takes a breath once Cas is completely gone from the area. Sam doesn’t know how Cas figured it out or why it made his heart race so fast when he brought it up or why he was worried about the angel telling Dean but all of that happened. He doesn’t think it’s wrong to be traveling with Balthazar but for some reason he does not want Dean to know. Sam really doesn’t want to think about all of that right now so he’s going to choose to ignore all those complicated feelings for the time being.

    

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but I put an end to this story. For a while now I’ve been thinking it would end around 25 or 30 chapters but now I know it will be 25 for sure. Honestly I feel like if I could end it sooner I would. Don’t get me wrong I love writing and I’m not going to stop but it’s time for this story to finish. I’ve been writing it for over a year which I feel like is an incredibly long time and the more I think about the beginning and such I feel like this story isn’t that great. Everyone’s support has been and still is amazing to me and I know a lot of you love the story and that blows my mind. I’m thankful for every single one of you that reads and doesn’t think this story is trash or that I’m a trash writer. It’s weird to see so many writers get stories done in a couple of weeks and then there’s me that hasn’t finished one story in over a year. But yeah sorry if anyone is disappointed but this isn’t the last of me, there will be more stories hopefully better ones as well. Also as of right now there will be no sequel to this, there will be more time stamps just because I want to get some of them done and Before the Fall will also continue until it’s finished but other than that New Dads is coming to an end.  
> Love again,   
> Mess


	23. A Big Birthday Bash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey loves!! Thank you all so much for all of your support! I love you all so much, you have no idea. My heart is filled with love for each and everyone of you. I'm sorry this update didn't come sooner I wanted to get it done and up for you all days ago but I wanted to put so much into it that it took longer than expected. I hope you all enjoy it <3  
> Love,   
> Mess

Two months later

      Lucifer wakes up and rolls over to see Michael still sleeping. He slips out of his own bed and tiptoes over to Michael’s. Since Michael doesn’t like his own room anymore Lucifer has graciously shared his with his older brother and it has been the best time, ever. Just as Lucifer is about to jump on Michael’s bed, Michael opens his eyes and throws himself out of bed to tackle Lucifer to the ground.

   Michael starts tickling him mercilessly. Lucifer tries to roll over and scramble away but Michael is stronger than him.

    “Say I’m the best and I’ll stop.”

  Lucifer gasps through the laughing. “I’m the best!”

    Instead of saying anything Michael starts tickling Lucifer’s feet. Lucifer howls with laughter. He’s starting to forget what it’s like to be able to breathe so he tries to squirm away again.

   “Alright boys,” Papa pulls Michael off of him, “time for breakfast.”

      Lucifer runs away before Michael is placed back on the ground. Daddy’s in the kitchen making chocolate chip pancakes. Gabriel is sitting in his highchair playing with a truck. He drags his chair over to be next to Gabe.

     “You’re going to be three soon Gabe! Are you excited?”

   Gabe claps and smiles in response. Lucifer frowns slightly. He overheard Papa telling Daddy that Gabriel should be talking more than he is and that he’s worried about how little Gabe talks. Ever since then Lucifer talks to Gabe as much as possible in an effort to get Gabe to talk more. So far Lucifer’s plan hasn’t really worked but he’s not going to give up.

      “I think you’re excited for the party.” Daddy says as he places a plate of pancakes on the table.

  “Everyone’s excited, Daddy.” He starts pilling pancakes on his plate.

       “That’s true, but I think you’re the most excited.”

    “No Gabe is. It’s his party.”

         Daddy looks over his shoulder. “He doesn’t seem very excited.”

    “Trust me he is. I know.”

~~~~~~~~

       Balthazar doesn’t remember much of last night which means he drank an extraordinary amount alcohol. He can’t even remember where he and Sam are. Some island, maybe, or maybe in Russia. Wherever they are the hotel must have heated beds because he’s encompassed in warmth. He stretches and feels another body next to him, explains the warmth.

     The angel turns to see the person that’s next to him. His eyes widen and hands start sweating when he sees the face. He gently lifts the blanket up enough to see that they are both naked. Balthazar wants to stab himself in the eye because this cannot be happening. He’s currently being spooned by a naked Samuel Winchester and he’s about ninety nine point nine percent certain that had sex last night, maybe multiple times.

      Slowly he starts moving towards the edge of the bed so that he can escape this situation. The muscular arm wrapped around his waist does not make his efforts any easier. He freezes when Sam groans. Don’t wake up, don’t wake up, don’t wake up. Sam rolls over, releasing Balthazar from his hold. Balthazar moves faster but not fast enough to jostle the bed. His left foot is on the ground and the door is less than four feet away.

   “W-what? Balthazar what happened last night?” Sam’s voice is deep and gravely from sleep and the hangover he definitely has.

     Quickly Balthazar covers his lower half. “Well we drank.”

  “Mmm.” Sam groans and throws his arm over his face.

      The sound travels directly to Balthazar’s dick which he does not appreciate because it’s not making this situation any better.

    “I hardly remember last night. What did we do?”

        Balthazar licks his lips and looks around the room. Their clothes are strewn across the entire room. “Um, we did a lot of different things.”

      Honey, their dog, trots into the room and jumps up onto the bed. Sam automatically starts petting the mutt. Balthazar stares at his pants and wills them to come over to him. The room is silent for a total of four minutes.

    “Balthazar…” Sam slowly sits up and stops petting Honey.

       “Yes?”

    “Are you naked?”

      “Yes…”

    Silence engulfs the room once again. He can practically hear Sam thinking. His back is still to Sam and a part of him wants to turn around and look at Sam but a bigger part doesn’t want to see the look on his face.

     “Did we do anything?” Sam draws out each word.

  “Most definitely.” Balthazar nods.

      “Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Okay,” Sam takes a breath, “okay, okay, okay. Okay.”

   “Stop.”

        “Sorry. Sorry. I’m sorry.”

     “Sam!”

  “Sorry! I don’t know what to say.”

     “Nothing! Say nothing! Just close you’re fucking eyes while I get up to get a shower.” Balthazar doesn’t wait to know if Sam did close his eyes.

   Balthazar tries not to think too much as he takes a searing cold shower. Really he doesn’t even have to shower but he enjoys showers and this is getting him away from Sam right now. He’s definitely thought about sleeping with Sam before, he never thought if it did happen it would happen like that though. He never wanted it to happen like that and fuck. Fuck! What if this ruins everything? What if Sam doesn’t want to be around him anymore? What if Sam leaves him and doesn’t want to travel anymore? Fuck. FUCK.

     He slowly dries himself off, dragging out the inevitable of having to go back into that room and facing Sam. Wrapping the towel around his waist he exits the bathroom and goes back into the bedroom. Sam is sitting up on the bed, his head resting back against the headboard with his eyes closed.

   “Do you remember last night?”

        “Some. Not much of it.”

    “How do you feel?”

        “What the fuck do you mean?”

    “I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know what to do in this situation, Balthazar.” Sam sinks lower on the bed.

        “Well neither do I.” He grabs his clothes and goes into the living room to get dressed.

~~~~~~~~

     Cas thinks that Dean’s lost his mind. They decided (Dean decided) that they should have a big party for Gabe’s birthday. Which means that there’s an abundance of things that need to be done before tomorrow. Dean’s been cleaning for about four hours know. Every time Cas asks if he needs help Dean does one of two things he will either wave him away or quickly say now.

     The whole family is now collectively avoiding Dean by hanging out outside. Cas looks around the backyard that is going to be full of people tomorrow. There’s going to be a bounce house and different kinds of games that Dean found online. There’s going to be kids from all around neighborhood here and some hunters are also coming, obviously Sam and Balthazar are coming as well. To be completely honest Castiel doesn’t understand why a three year old needs such a huge party but Dean wants to do it so he’s not going to question it out loud to anyone.

    “You’re husband has lost his mind!”

  Cas looks away from the boys and to the deck where Sam and Balthazar are. He smiles at the sight. Their dog Honey runs down the steps and over to the boys, she starts covering all four in kisses.

   “We aren’t married.” Cas corrects his brother.

    “You live in the same house, you share a bed and you are raising four children together. You’re married.” Balthazar states matter of fact.

      “By that definition wouldn’t you and Sam be married?” Cas whispers to his brother.

   Balthazar turns to him mouth slightly agape, shocked, his eyes flick over to Sam who is sitting on the grass with Honey and the boys about twenty feet away. “What?”

     “You don’t live together but that’s because you don’t live anywhere. You two travel the world together and have a dog together. A dog you kept for him.”

   “I did not keep Honey for him.” Balthazar scoffs at the thought.

       “Oh really? Who named Honey?”

   “Why does it matter?”

       “That means Sam did. Who has always wanted a dog and loves dogs?”

   “I like dogs.”

       “But you don’t love them and have never wanted one.”

    “What are you trying to say, Castiel?” His brother asks defensively.

        “Nothing. I’m not saying anything.” Cas holds his hands up in surrender.

    Cas knows that there’s something between Balthazar and Sam, but clearly the two aren’t ready to face that. Eventually they will be admit to their feelings and Castiel will be ready to support them and maybe say a small ‘I knew it’ but until then he will stay on the sidelines.

      “I thought you two weren’t coming until tomorrow.” He changes the subject.

  “Plans changed.” Balthazar shrugs.

      He senses that there’s more to that statement than what Balthazar is saying, he’s not going to pry though. Cas looks over at Honey again. Honey is probably what made Dean ‘lose his mind’. Dean isn’t the biggest fan of dogs and their dirt. He had actually been talking about how much he hoped Sam and Balthazar wouldn’t bring along their ‘flea bag’, those are Dean’s words. Cas knew Honey was going to be coming along as well and he doesn’t care, he actually quite enjoys Honey and the boys love her so she’s always welcome no matter how much of a baby Dean is about her.

       The deck door slides open this time Dean comes out and walks directly over to Balthazar and Cas who has been standing in silence.

    “She is not staying in the house.” Dean’s voice is stern.

         “Dean,” Cas shakes his head, “don’t be ridiculous.”

     “Ridiculous? She sheds.”

         “So do you. You’re getting your hair and skin cells everywhere. You should sleep outside.” Balthazar responds without looking at Dean.

    Dean makes a few annoyed noises before half stomping off. Cas raises an eyebrow at Balthazar before following Dean back into the house.

     “Dean, I think you need to relax.” Cas says once the sliding door is closed.

   “I am relaxed.” Dean snaps.

       Cas runs a hand down Deans back and places his other hand on top of Dean’s hand that is scrubbing at the kitchen counter.

    “Why are you losing your mind over this?” Cas quietly asks and rests his forehead on the side of Dean’s head.

       Dean goes still and silent. He gives him the time he needs and continues to slowly run his hand up and down his back.

   “I just want Gabe to have a good birthday.” Dean tells him lowly.

       “Darling, he’s a toddler. You could give him a piece of cake and a new set of blocks and he would be the happiest kid in the world.”

    “I know.”

        “Then what’s the real reason you’ve been cleaning nonstop for hours? I think our house is already the cleanest house that has four young boys living in it in all of Texas.”

     Dean purses his lips and swallows. “I want them all to have great memories about the important events in their life. Like birthdays.”

        “As opposed to having?”

    “Awful, disappointing memories.”

         “How would they have that? Dean you give them everything you can. You went on a plane for them. You don’t need to try so hard.”

     Dean takes a breath. “I know… I still don’t like that dog.”

         “Well that’s just because you’re a grump.” Cas kisses the side of Dean’s head.

     “I am not.” Dean puffs

          Cas doesn’t say anything back instead he pats Dean’s head and goes back outside.

~~~~~~~~

    It’s after lunch and everyone in the family is off doing their own things. Michael takes the opportunity to sneak away. For the past two months he has been sharing Lucifer’s room with him which has been great and he does love it but he doesn’t want to share a room for the rest of his life. So secretly he has been going to his room to see how long he can spend in it by himself without getting scared. Talking to Danielle has made him feel a lot better but he has to do things by himself too.

       He opens the door to his room and quickly closes it. The first thing he does is go to the closet, he places his hand on the door and opens it. He moves everything around that’s in it, mostly he’s just making sure that nothings hiding in it. When he clears the closet he goes over to the window and checks the lock. After he clears the window he checks under his bed. He clears the entire room and knows it’s safe, this is probably the fastest he has checked his room so he’s proud of himself. Michael feels a little crazy when he checks his room because he knows nothing is in it and he’s safe but he doesn’t feel safe unless he checks.

      Knowing that everything is safe he takes a book off his nightstand and starts reading. Sam gave him the first Harry Potter book a while ago so now every time Michael comes into his room he reads it. Michael reads two entire chapters before he gets too thirsty to continue. He puts his bookmark in and leaves his room as quietly as he entered it.

    Michael heads downstairs and goes to kitchen to get a drink. He opens the fridge and starts looking over the drink choices. He’s suddenly lifted up, he holds back his scream and twists around to see Balthazar.

     “Stop it.” He glares at his uncle.

    “Come on, Michael. Don’t be such a grump.” Balthazar places a very wet kiss to Michael’s cheek and doesn’t put him down.

     “I’m not a grump. I’m too old to be picked up.” Michael snatches a kiwi strawberry juice box from the fridge.

   “I disagree. I’m always going to pick you up. Even when you’re thirty.” Balthazar carries Michael over to the island and sits down with Michael on his lap.

      Michael tries to wiggle away but gets nowhere because Balthazar is annoying and strong. He gives up and settles against Balthazar, silently drinking his juice.

   “How are you doing, dude?”

        Michael turns to look at him. “Good. Being held against my will.”

    Balthazar laughs which confuses him because he has no idea what’s so funny. He is finally placed on the ground, Balthazar ruffles his hair which Michael hates. Michael runs away from Balthazar but not before grabbing another juice box from the fridge. He goes to the laundry room where he finds Daddy.

      “Hey, bear. What’s up?”

   “Balthazar is annoying.”

       Daddy chuckles but doesn’t say anything. Michael climbs up onto the dryer and watches Daddy fold clothes. Both are silent because they don’t need to talk when there’s nothing to say. Michael ends up only wanting to drink half of his second juice box so he gives the rest to Daddy.

    “Daddy.” Michael says after about fifteen minutes of silence.

         “Bear.”

    Michael half smiles at the nickname that both Daddy and Papa call him, they say he’s a little teddy bear so they call him bear. “I think want to go back to sleeping in my own room.”

       Daddy looks up from the blanket he’s folding. “Really?”

   “Yeah.” Michael nods.

        “Okay. When do you want to go back to your room?”

   “I don’t know. Whenever.” Michael shrugs.

         “Okay, okay. Well let’s talk to Papa about it and then we can decide.”

    “Okay.” Michael hops off the dryer and hugs Daddy before running off.

~~~~~~~~

        It’s the morning of the party and Lucifer is having a huge temper tantrum. Lucifer found out that Michael wants to move back into his own room and is none too happy about. Everything’s basically been put on pause because of Lucifer’s tantrum, Dean stopped cooking and Cas stopped setting up the back yard. Balthazar and Sam are in the backyard with Raphael and Gabriel doing who knows what while Dean, Cas and Michael deal with Lucifer.

     Right now Lucifer is in the screaming part of his tantrum. He’s lying and the ground screaming into the carpet and kicking his feet. Lucifer undoubtedly has the worst tantrums out of all the boys and longest ones. Dean, Cas and Michael are all sitting on the couch waiting for the screaming to stop.

   Lucifer finally stops screaming after about five minutes and goes onto crying. Michael gets off of the couch and sits next to Lucifer on the floor he tries to hug Lucifer. Lucifer pushes Michael away, hard. Michael falls on his side and a red mark starts to form on the side of his face.

     “Okay, that’s enough.” Dean jumps up and lift the six year old off the ground.

    “It’s okay to be upset Lucifer but it is not okay to hit people because you’re upset.” Castiel explains while he helps Michael to his feet.   

       Lucifer cries harder in response. Dean takes Lucifer over to the timeout step and goes over the usual spiel. Michael follows Dean to help him in the kitchen. Cas tells Lucifer that he’s going outback to help his uncles and if he gets up to go directly to Daddy.

~~~~~~~~

     Sam has never in his life ever been to a party this large before. It was slightly stressful getting everything together at the end, they were on a bit of a time crunch after Lucifer’s meltdown but the managed to get everything done before people started showing up. It’s actually a pretty great party. Jody and Garth are here along with a handful of other hunters. Also a bunch of Dean and Cas’ friends are here with their children, because Dean and Cas have friends which is crazy to think about.

     The only weird thing going on in Sam’s life right now is Balthazar. The angel hasn’t really talked to him after the ‘incident’ and ever since they got to Dean and Cas’ he has completely ignored him. He’s not going to think about that too much right now though, he’s going to have a good time with his nephews instead.

    He’s carrying a slightly upset Gabe around, he personally thinks the kid needs a nap but neither of his parents are in sight so he’s just not going to let anyone else touch Gabe for the time being. Sam goes over to one of the picnic tables they set up and sits down with Gabe in his lap. He munches on some chips while Gabriel rests.

      “So I hear you’re traveling the world with your boyfriend. You and your brother sure do have a thing for angels.” Jody sits next to Sam.

    “He’s not my boyfriend.” He shakes his head while shoving another chip in his mouth.

  “Okay.” Jody smirks.

       Sam doesn’t argue, once Jody gets an idea in her head not even Chuck himself can get her to change her mind.

    “Let me see the birthday boy.” She reaches for Gabe.

         “I wouldn’t, Jody. He’s not in the best mood right now.”

    “Oh come on. I think I know kids a little better than you Sam.”

         Sam holds his hands up and let Jody lift Gabriel from his lap. Almost instantly Gabe starts crying, the toddler reaches out for Sam.

     “Sammy! Sammy!” Gabe cries and makes grabby hands.

          Sam freezes for second because that’s the first time Gabe has ever said his name. He takes the toddler back and holds him close to his chest. Dean swoops in and says something about a nap when he takes Gabe from Sam.

       He talks with Jody for a bit before his hunger takes over and he heads for the actual food. Sam’s piling food up on his plate and minding his own business.

    “What the hell?” He hears Dean say in a soft voice.

         Confused he turns around. Immediately his eyes go down to Balthazar who is on one knee holding up a ring. Sam blacks out for about thirty seconds when he comes to he’s still staring at Balthazar who is looking at him expectantly. Calmly he puts his plate on the table behind him, not calmly he runs away from the angel and into the house. Sam runs up the stairs and into the guest room locking the door behind himself.

     “What the fuck?!” He screams to himself.

          He has to admit that he’s thought about being with Balthazar, more ever since they fucked. Not once has he ever thought about fucking marrying the angel! Dating sure but marriage? No! They don’t actually know each other that well, also he isn’t fucking insane. 

     The doorknob wiggles and then there’s a knock on the door. “Sam, please open the door.” He’s never heard Balthazar sound like that.

      “I need to think Balth.”

    “You can’t think with me in the room?”

        “Balthazar.” Sam sighs.

     “Please, Sam. I think I’m the embarrassed one in this situation.”

          With another sigh he unlocks the door and lets Balthazar in. Balthazar slides in and smiles sheepishly at Sam as the door closes.

       “What the fuck was that?!” Sam pushes Balthazar onto the bed.

           “I messed up I know.” The angel looks down.

      “Messed up? Balthazar you fucking proposed! Why?”

            “Because I like you!”

      “Well you don’t propose to someone because you _like_ them. You also don’t propose to someone after you sleep with them then hardly talk to them for days then completely ignore them for an entire day!”

        “I don’t know! Believe it or not I’ve never liked anything like this before let alone dated!”

     Sam takes a breath because they aren’t getting anywhere yelling like this. Balthazar doesn’t say anything or even look at Sam as he runs a hand through his hair. Not knowing what the best thing to do in this situation is he takes a seat on the bed next the angel, leaving a small space between them.

      “Why did you ignore me?”

   “I thought you were going to leave.”

      “Why would I leave?”

   Balthazar looks up at Sam like he’s a crazy person. “We got piss drunk and fucked.”

      “I wasn’t exactly upset by that.”

   A blush actually rises to the angels cheeks. Sam thinks Balthazar looks adorable. He leans forward and cups Balthazar’s face with both his hands then gently kisses him. Instantly Balthazar melts into the kiss. He would never think something so pure and loving could come from Balthazar but the kiss is amazing, he can’t say it’s better than the sex because he doesn’t remember that.

     They pull apart and Balthazar’s eyes dilate as he lunges forward. This kiss is much less gentle and pure. It’s full of passion and heat.

    Sam swings the door open, feeling better than he has in days. One thing he learned about Balthazar in the past fifteen minutes is that the angel likes to bite, a lot. Another thing he learned is he does not mind Balthazar’s love for biting.

~~~~~~~~

   The party is officially over, everyone is gone, all the boys are asleep and the only thing left is the mess. Sam walks into the kitchen to help Dean put away all the leftover food. He’s expecting to get bitched out by Dean because they haven’t talked about the proposal at all, everyone at the party acted like it didn’t happen. All the guests eyed Sam and Balthazar but no one said anything to either of them not even Jody.

      Without saying anything to each other both Winchesters pack up all the leftover food. After ten minutes Sam can’t take it anymore.

    “So you’re just going to ignore me?”

         Dean looks up, looking slightly startled. “What?”

   “Are you really that pissed that you’re not even going to talk to me?”

        “I didn’t even realize you come in here.”

    “Oh.” Sam looks away from Dean and starts putting things in the fridge.

          “The only thing I’m pissed about is that I lost the bet.” Dean half laughs as he wipes the counter down.

      “Excuse me?”

           “Cas and I had a bet on how long it would take for you and Balthazar to realize you like each other. I thought it would at least another two months and he said under a month.”

       “But you don’t even know that we aren’t engaged.”

    “You just told me you aren’t. Also you don’t have a ring on and I know you’re not a total idiot.” His brother smirks.

        Sam rolls his eyes but takes the moment to pester his older brother as he’s trapped loading the dishwasher. He leans against the counter and eyes the door to make sure neither angel is near.

    “I may not be an idiot but you are.”

        “Why is that?”

    “Because you and Cas still aren’t married.”

         Dean rolls his eyes and closes the dishwasher, he leaves the kitchen without a word to Sam. He was expecting a reaction similar to what happened. Sam one hundred percent thinks that Dean and Castiel should get married. He doesn’t think his opinion matters much though. One day the two will get married, he can feel it, he just doesn’t know when that day is.

~~~~~~~~

   Dean’s locking up the house so Castiel goes upstairs and to their room. He changes into pajamas and walks out of the bathroom to see Lucifer sitting on the bed silently crying into Fuzz his stuffed lamb.

      “Hey, Luci, what’s wrong?” Cas glances at the alarm clock to see it’s one thirty in the morning.

    “I miss Michael.” Lucifer sniffles.

  “He’s right across the hall from you.” Cas sits next to Lucifer and lets the boy crawl onto his lap.

     Michael decided to try and sleep in his own room tonight, Lucifer was not and clearly still not happy about that decision. He pitched a fit when he found out Michael wanted to go back to his own room. They still don’t know why Lucifer is so upset about it but he is.

    “But now I’m all alone! I like sharing a room.” Lucifer wipes his wet face and snotty nose on Castiel’s shirt.

   “I’m sorry, bud. It was very nice to share your room with Michael and I know he had a good time too but he wants to be in his own room again.”

      “But I don’t want him to be in his own room.” The six year old starts sobbing.

    Castiel rubs Lucifer’s back. He knows that there’s no reasoning with Lucifer and the boy just needs to cry right now. After almost an entire minute of crying Luci calms down a bit. The blond wiggles around so he’s lying down on Cas’ lap. Cas wipes away the wetness from his boy’s face.

      “I have an idea.” Lucifer’s face lights up.

   “What’s your idea?”

        “You and Daddy can have a baby and the baby can share my room with me.” Luci smiles brightly up at Castiel.

     He can’t help it and bursts out laughing. Out of all the things he thought Lucifer would say he would have never guessed it would be to have a baby. Not once has Cas thought about having another kid, and why would he? He does not want another kid and doubts Dean does, their family is complete.

      “What’s going on in here?” Dean’s voice draws Cas’ attention.

   He looks up and gathers himself as best he can. “Lucifer tell Daddy what you just told me.”

       “You and Papa should have a baby!”

    Dean tilts his head then looks to Cas, they start laughing at the same time. Lucifer looks back and for at his fathers’ not at all understanding what is so funny. Dean takes a seat on the bed and grabs Lucifer hugging him tightly.

      “Maybe. Papa and I will think about it.” Dean tells the blond.

   Dean means no but he isn’t going to say that to Lucifer at least not yet. Since Lucifer is still feeling lonely Dean and Cas decide to let Lucifer sleep with them for the night. Dean changes into his pajamas in the bathroom. Lucifer wiggles around in between the two men until he get comfortable, then he wiggles around some more. Cas lays his arm across the six year old so that he can reach Dean as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to reassure you guys with a couple of things.   
> 1) I do already have another story planned, I'm not going to tell you guys about it yet and I haven't started writing it yet but I have it planned. (I will tell you about just not yet my loves)  
> 2) Balthazar will be in the last two chapters which means Sam is going to be too.   
> 3) The next chapter is going to be a little wild and perhaps the most domestic Destiel yet!  
> Love again,   
> Mess


	24. Family Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my darlings! One warning before you start reading there is smut at the end of this chapter. Also this chapter is on the shorter side but don't worry the next one is going to be long. Check out the end notes.  
> Love,  
> Jenn

   For the past week Dean has been bombarded with drawings of dogs. The boys have teamed up and decided that they want a dog. Cas and Dean haven’t talked about it yet and Dean doesn’t want to talk about it because he does _not_ want a dog but clearly the boys and he knows that Cas is going to say they should get a dog. Honestly he doesn’t even understand why the kids want a dog, he knows they love Honey but they never showed interest in dogs before her.

     He thinks they’re going to get a dog though. Not because Dean wants one but because he’s out voted. It’s not that he hates dogs it’s that he doesn’t want to own one. With a sigh he gets out of Baby and heads into the house semi tired from work. He’s greeted by Gabriel who throws himself at Dean’s legs.

   Dean lifts the three year old up and settles him on his hip. Gabe has started talking more which everyone is excited about.

     “Hey, bud. How was your day?”

   “Good! You bring puppy home?” Gabe looks over Dean’s shoulder for a dog.

      He can’t help but laugh. It just proves how relentless the boys are going to be until they get a dog.

  “No, Gabe I didn’t bring a dog home.”

      Gabe scrunches his face together to glare at Dean and wiggles out of his arms. Dean laughs as he follows the toddler to the playroom where the rest of the family is. He says hello to the other boys and kisses Cas before heading upstairs to wash the grime off himself. 

   He takes a quick shower and changes into a pair of dark washed ripped jeans a black shirt. Slightly jogging he goes down the stairs only to see his family waiting by the front door all wearing their shoes and jackets also Cas has the diaper backpack on.

     “What’s going on?” Dean halts to a stop.

  “We’re going to the animal shelter to meet with some dogs.” Cas smiles.

        “Okay.”

   Cas is taken aback by Dean’s response but doesn’t say anything as they head out to the van.

~~~~~~~~

     Castiel doesn’t think he’s ever seen the boys as happy as they are right now. He has no idea how they are going to get them to sleep tonight. They met with about five dogs and the last one the met with was a perfect match with their family and Cas can’t wait for tomorrow when they are going to adopt her.

     They’re going to adopt a two year old female American Terrier Pitbull. Her name currently is Sweetie but the people working at the shelter said they can change her name because she doesn’t respond to the name Sweetie.

    Their own the way home and the boys are discussing what they should name her. Gabe keeps repeating Honey over and over because it’s the only dog he knows. Lucifer is rooting for the name Rainbow. Raphael wants her to be named Poppy (after a character from a book he likes). Michael wants to change her name to Cherry.

     Somehow Rainbow wins. Dean shakes his head at the name but doesn’t say anything about the name as they get the kids ready for bed. It does take longer than normal because of the excitement but they manage to do it.

   Cas leaves Gabe’s room quietly and closes the door extremely slowly to make sure that it doesn’t make any noise. He finds Dean in the kitchen shoving a sandwich in his mouth, he stands in the doorway unnoticed. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth because of the idea he just had. He was going to wait for the perfect moment to do this but this is the perfect moment. Quickly he runs upstairs and takes the small box out of its hiding place.

    He stands next to Dean as the green eyed man takes big bite from his sandwich. Dean looks at him from the side of his eye. Silently he kneels and takes the small black box out of his pocket.

   “What are you doing?” Dean asks around his mouthful of food, eyes wide.

   “I’m asking you to marry me,” Castiel opens the box to show a simple golden band, “will you marry me Dean Winchester?”

      Dean quickly chews and swallows. “I was not expecting this.” His eyes are wet in the corners.

   “You never thought about this?” Cas asks surprised.

        “No, that’s not what I meant. I just, I never thought you would want to get married.”

    “Is that a yes?”

         “Yes.” Dean yanks Cas up from the ground and pulls him into a heated kiss.

~~~~~~~~

     Sam wakes up with the sun coming in through the window warming his body, Balthazar sleeping on his chest and Honey at the foot of the bed. They are currently living in Italy. He never thought that his life would turn out like this but he couldn’t possibly be happier. Balthazar has brought an abundance of joy to his life, more than he thought he could have.

     He grabs his phone from the bedside table but doesn’t sit up so that Balthazar can continue to sleep. He unlocks his phone to not one but two surprises. Not only did Dean get a dog that’s name is Rainbow but also he’s engaged?!

    “What the fuck?” Sam shoots up in bed and calls Dean.

       Balthazar yelps as he hits the floor. “What- what? Are we under attack?!” Balthazar looks around the room frantically.

     
   “No but Dean and Cas got engaged!”

    “Oh. Okay.” Balthazar crawls back onto the bed and shoves a head under a pillow.

  Sam rolls his eyes but goes to the living room. He gets Dean’s answering machine.

      “Jerk, answer your fucking phone! You can’t just text me that you got a dog and are engaged! Call me.” He hangs up and dials his brother’s number again.

   He ends up leaving Dean ten messages before giving up and deciding to patiently wait for a call back. Dean finally calls him at three in the afternoon, which is eight in the morning in Texas.

     “What the hell!” Sam shouts, drawing attention from the surrounding people at the park.

  “Relax, okay. Neither things that happened are a big deal.”

      “First of all you got a dog, _you_ got a dog. Did you get hypnotized? If I start saying random words will I say the key word and you’ll snap out of it and start fighting with Cas? Kiwi. Teal. Leopard. Toast. Lamp. Are you feeling anything?”

   “I feel like you’re an idiot. I wasn’t hypnotized. The boys wanted a dog so we got a dog.”

       “Hmmm. Sounds more plausible that you’re hypnotized. Toyota.”

    “I’m not hypnotized! Rainbow is a great dog and you’re going to love her.”

        “I’ll talk to Balthazar so we can plan a visit, while I’m talking to him about that we can also plan when we should come out to the wedding.”

     “Sammy we haven’t planned anything yet. Trust me you’ll be keep in the loop, okay? We just got engaged last night.”

      “I better be kept in the loop.”

   Dean laughs at Sam’s grumpy tone. The two catch up briefly before Dean has to hang up to attend to a Raphael that fell on his face. He walks back to the apartment with Honey at his side. The Winchester brothers are both happy at the same time and neither had to self-sacrifice to get the other one to that point, Sam has to admit that he never thought he would see the day.

~~~~ 6 months later ~~~~

   Dean is pacing behind the hedge that’s blocking him from the guests view. The day has finally arrived, he and Cas are getting married. They planned it incredibly fast because they didn’t want to wait a year to do a simple ceremony. If it was possible for one of them to be pregnant people would probably think it’s shotgun wedding. Dean’s planned everything out for today and has no doubts about marrying Castiel but for some reason he still feels like he’s going to throw up.

     The music starts and he takes a deep breath. Gabe walks down the idle first, he insisted on being the flower boy not that anyone had a problem with that. Michael is one of Dean’s groomsmen and Lucifer is one of Cas’, Raphael is the ring bearer. Sam is obviously Dean’s best man and Balthazar is Cas’. Hunter’s and angels are here to celebrate with them. Chuck is officiating, which is hilarious but also nice.

   It’s Dean’s turn to walk down the aisle, he takes a breath and turns around the corner. His heart stops when he sees Castiel who looks stunning. His entire family is lined up before him. Everyone is wearing black suits, except for Gabe who is wearing white dress with a tutu.

     Everyone is in their correct place except for Gabe who is standing next to Cas. Dean smiles at his family. He stops in front of Cas and smiles at him.

    “Daddy,” Gabriel tries to whisper, “you look very pretty.”

  “Thank you, Gabe. So do you.”

       Gabe smiles brightly and steps back so he’s closer to Sam than Cas. Chuck clears his throat to get everyone’s attention.

   “Today we are gathered to witness to marriage of an angel and a human, something incredible, just like the love they have for each other. I’ve lived a very long time so not many things impress me anymore. Yet Dean and Castiel continue to impress me every day from seeing them raise their children to watching their love for each other. Now the two have prepared their own vows so I’ll stop rambling on.” Chuck takes a step with a slight nod of his head.

      Cas goes first. “Dean, if someone told me when we first met that we would end up getting married I wouldn’t have believed them. I would never have believed I would end up marrying the best person to ever step into my life. Dean Winchester you eternally amaze me with your strength, intelligence and kindness. We may have done this backwards starting a family before getting married but we did it our way. I’ll forever love our children, our family and you. You’re the best thing that’s ever walked into my life and I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my time with anyone else.”

    Dean does not tear up. He will not allow a chick flick moment at his own damn wedding. He grips Cas hand tightly.

      “I never thought my life would have a happy ending, and while this is nowhere near an ending this beginning means I will have a happy ending. You’ve always been there for me. Thank you for being my rock and for standing by my side no matter what. I’m not the best when it comes to getting in touch with my feelings but I love you and I’m always going to love you. Continuing our lives together is the best thing, other than the boys, that could ever happen to me.”

     Cas smirks before leaning forward and grabbing Deans face to kiss him. “And I now pronounce you husband and husband!” Chuck screams over the cheering and clapping.

~~~~~~~~

    The reception is held at the barn that’s on the field the wedding was held at. Michael looks around the dance floor to see everyone dancing. Daddy and Papa are slow dancing, Uncle Sam and Uncle Balthazar are dancing together, Raphael is dancing with Donna, Gabe is with Aunt Jody and Lucifer is dancing with both Claire and Sam. Michael puffs his chest out and walks over to the table that Jax is sitting at.

    “Hi, Michael.” Jax smiles brightly.

  “Would you like to dance, Jaxlyn?” Michael holds his hand out to his friend.

     Jax grabs Michael’s hand and jumps down from his chair. Michael sneakily watches Papa and Daddy to make sure he’s dancing correctly.

   “What do you want your wedding to be like?”

       “What?” Michael is taken aback by his friend’s question.

   “Your wedding? What do you want it to be like? I think it would be cool to get married on the moon but I don’t think that’s possible.” Jax turns his head slightly to the side in thought.

      “Um, I’ve never really thought about it.”

  “You’ve never thought about marrying someone?”

       “No. I guess I’ve never thought about the future that much.”

   Jax nods but doesn’t say anything else. They dance together for three more songs because after the third song they start handing out cake. Aunt Jody sits next to him while he shovels cake into his mouth. He offers her some of her cake but she shakes her head.

     “I’ve hardly gotten to see you today Michael. Are you having a good time?”

  “Yes. Are you having a good time Aunt Jody?”

      “Yes I am. I love seeing how happy your Daddy is.”

    Michael nods and scoops more cake into his mouth. A loud crash draws both their attention to the right where Claire is stumbling and laughing. Michael furrows his brows, confused by his cousin’s actions.

     “Is she sick?”

   “Sort of.” Aunt Jody mumbles and quickly gets up and rushes over to Claire.

       Someone lifts Michael up from behind, he squeaks and looks over his shoulder to see Daddy.

   “Hey, bear. How’s the cake?” Daddy sits down and places Michael on his lap.

        “It’s delicious! Do you want some?”

    Daddy takes some of his cake and hums. “All your brothers are asleep, I’m surprised you’re still awake.”

      “I’m not sleepy at all.”

  “Oh really?”

      “Yup!”

   “Let’s go dance than!”

  Daddy carries him out to the dance floor and they start dancing to a fast song. Michael ends up laughing so hard at Daddy’s dance moves that he doubles over. Uncle Sam joins the dance party, with even worse moves. Soon everyone is on the dance floor and they all look like idiots. Michael smiles at his weird family. He looks to over to where his brothers are sleeping, all on top of a table. That’s when he sees Chuck watching him, he dismisses it because Chuck is crazy. He wiggles between Papa and Daddy so that Chuck can’t see him anymore because he doesn’t want the crazy man to stare at him.

~~~~~~~~

    Dean and Cas are loading the kids into the car when Chuck comes up to him.

  “I know you need to get home but could I talk to you for a minute?” Chuck rests his hand on Dean’s arm.

     The two walk a couple of feet away from the car so that they can have some privacy. Dean has no idea how much Chuck has drank but it must have been an outstanding amount because his eyes are a light red.

   “Listen Dean,” Chuck leans heavily on him, “I know that you’re worried about when the boys are going to be taken from you. An understandable worry, you love them so much, something I never gave them. That’s off topic sorry. Anyway, you don’t have anything to worry about. You’re going to have the boys for a long time.”

      “How long?”

   “I don’t know,” Chuck runs a hand down his face and sighs, “The rest of eternity.”

       “How drunk are you?” Dean takes a step back to get a better look at Chuck.

   “I’m not drunk at all. In due time I will explain everything to you and Cas.” Chuck pats Dean’s shoulder and walks away.

      “What kind of crazy troll riddle is that!?” He shouts at Chuck’s back.

   Chuck raises a glass of scotch that came out of nowhere before disappearing.

      “What was that about?” Cas questions when Dean walks back to the car.

   “Your dad is losing his mind.”

      “Oh, yeah, definitely.” Cas nods without any further questions.

~~~~~~~~

    Sam pushes the door open to the hotel room. Balthazar wraps himself around Sam from behind, the angel presses his boner into him. He can’t help but chuckle.

      “What could have possibly made you horny on the way here?”

    “Thinking about your dick.”

      He can’t think of anything better than Balthazar’s bluntness, he never has to wonder what he’s thinking and it’s also hot as fuck. Sam closes the door and pulls Balth around so they are facing each other.

   “What else were you thinking about?”

       “I was thinking about your perfect abs and your arms and my mouth around you.”

   Sam breathes through his noise as he pushes Balthazar to his knees. Balth unzips Sam’s slacks and yanks them down faster than the brown haired man can blink. Balthazar strokes him a couple of times until he’s completely hard. Hooded gray eyes look up at while Balth licks from tip to base. Nobody should be able to give such and amazing blowjob but Balthzar’s are always mind blowing.

     Sam grips his blond hair tightly. The angel hums around Sam, he bucks his hips at the vibrations. Balthazar gently scraps his teeth against the tip. Sam cums with a low groan. He pulls the angel back up and pushes him onto the bed. Balthazar eyes are dilated from arousal, Sam has hardly touched him but it doesn’t matter because Balth is about to be dominated and that’s all he has to know.

    He strips his angel down to nothing.  Sam pins Balthazar’s arms down as he starts kissing him, he takes over the kiss the same way he’s about to take over Balth. Slowly he moves from his lips to his jaw then his collarbones. He stops a few times on his trail from the angel’s mouth to his hard on to suck and bite hickies over the expanse of skin in front of him. Sam takes his time when he gets to Balth’s penis.

      Balthazar groans and tries to get one of his arms free, he wants more friction than the feather like touches Sam is giving him. Quickly Sam flips Balthazar over and drags his hips up so his ass is in the air. He spreads the tan cheeks and licks a flat strip over the fluttering hole. Sam works his tongue in and out, preparing the angel.

   Balthazar tries to touch himself, Sam reaches around and smacks the hand away. He skips his fingers and starts pushing himself forward. The angel’s patience runs out and he thrusts back. Sam spanks Balth’s left cheek but doesn’t say anything. He pulls out slowly and pushes back in even slower. Balthazar lets out a high whine. Sam doesn’t let the angel suffer too much because he can’t hold out that long. He picks up the pace and reaches around so that he’s stroking Balth as well. They cum seconds apart and in a heap of moaning and panting.

       The angel collapses forward. Sam maneuvers out of Balth and lays next to him. Balthazar acts like he doesn’t like to cuddle after sex but he does, actually if they don’t Balth acts like weird the entire next day. He wraps himself around the angel and hums when Balthazar grunts ‘annoyed’. They lay in silence for a couple of minutes.

    “Hey, can I ask you something?” Balthazar quietly asks.

  “Yup.”

      “Do you ever want to have kids?”

   “Not really. I’d rather have a bunch of animals if I’m being honest. Why do you want kids?”

         Balthazar snorts. “Fuck no. It’s like a weight has been lifted off me now that I know you don’t want any either.”

      “Do you want another pet?” Sam smirks.

   “I think Honey is good for now.”

       “For _now._ Which means we will get another one eventually.” Sam shoves his face in the crook between Balthazar’s neck and shoulder.

     “I think you have me pussy whipped.”

   Sam laughs and rolls over so that Balthazar is laying on top of him. He kisses the gray eyed angel softly and smiles at him. Sam doesn’t want to have kids and he definitely doesn’t want to have them with Balthazar because he can’t even imagine Balth as a father. He thinks he might want to marry Balthazar one day though and that’s a pretty fucking awesome thought.

       He kisses the top of a now sleeping Balthazar head. Sam stretches and gets as comfortable as he can with almost dead weight on top of him. The younger Winchester falls asleep thinking of a house full of dogs and cats and Balthazar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I'm going to let you know that as of right now there still isn't going to be a squeal as of right now. Also I'm not going to tell you what the next story is going to be, I'll tell you all in the next (last update). I just want to remind you that the short series are going still going to be continued, I know I haven't updated any of them in a while life has just been really busy but trust me they aren't abandoned.  
> I love hearing about you guys so do you guys have any pets? I have four dogs and a cat, also my family always fosters kittens.  
> Love again,  
> Mess


	25. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my darlings. I just have to say that I did not think writing the last chapter of this story would upset me but it is hard to say goodbye to these characters even though I will still write the timestamps and prequel. Anyway don’t forget to check out the end note!   
> Love,   
> Mess

~~ 10 Years Later ~~

     Michael was given Dad’s Chevy Impala for his eighteenth birthday, it’s his prized possession and he’s just as protective of it as Dad was/is. He slaps Lucifer’s feet off the dashboard, Lucifer knows that Michael hates when he does that shit but he’s always trying to push his limits. Michael parks Baby in front of Raphael and Gabriel’s middle school, the two are going to get out in five minutes and in the meantime Lucifer flicks through radio stations.

      It takes a couple of minutes for the boys to walk out of school but when they do Michael immediately notices that there is some little punk walking behind Gabe and pushing him. Lucifer pushes the passenger door open and starts stomping across the grass and to Gabe. Michael follows and tries to keep a level head because someone has too. Lucifer and Michael are about six feet away from Gabe and the id who’s pushing him around when Raphael rushes forward and punches the boy in the face. Raphael and the boy quickly get into a fight, Gabriel stands by in shock. Lucifer and Michael run to their brothers. Michael pulls Raphael off of the boy who is now bleeding from his nose. Lucifer tries to move forward to get a hit in but Michael kicks the sixteen year old’s leg to stop him.

   Two teachers are now pushing through the group of kids that have gathered around. One teacher helps the boy with the bleeding nose up and the other rushes the Winchester brothers into the school. The five boys are all taken to the front office, the one bleeding is taken to the nurse first. The Winchesters are seated in the principal’s office and told to wait by the teacher. Michael shakes his head, he knows that they are going to call either Papa or Dad.

    Michael is sitting in the middle, Gabe is on his left and Raph is on his right and Lucifer is sitting in the chair by the door.

      “Why would you do that Raphael?” Michael looks at the bruises starting to form on his brother’s knuckles.

   “Because Jimmy was being a jerk to Gabe.”

      “You shouldn’t have hit him.” Gabe is staring at his shoes.

  “Gabe, he deserved to be hit!” Lucifer tucks some of Gabe’s stray hairs behind his ear.

      “No, you can’t just go around hitting people Lucifer and you know that.” Michael sends a hard look to Lucifer.

    The brother’s sit in silence until Principal Wilson walks in with Jimmy who has tissues stuffed up his nose.

      “I have to say boys I didn’t think I would be seeing the Winchester’s in my office anymore once Lucifer graduated.” Principal Wilson takes a sit behind her desk and sits up very straight.

    Lucifer smirks at the comment but doesn’t respond.

      “We are going to wait to talk about this until your parents and Jimmy’s parents arrive.”

   Jimmy sits next to Principal Wilson and they all sit in silence for twenty minutes until the parents arrive. Papa gets there first then Jimmy’s mom and dad. Papa explains that Dad isn’t in town right now so he can’t make it to this meeting.

    The group moves to the conference room and Principal Wilson starts asking questions. “Raphael, do you understand what you did was wrong?”

   “I understand why you think it was wrong but I don’t think it was wrong,” Principal Wilson tries to say something, “I’m not done talking so let me explain. I didn’t hit Jimmy for no reason. I hit him because he was being rude and saying vulgar things to Gabriel, my brother.”

     Jimmy’s dad looks at Papa as if to ask ‘does your kid always talk like this’, Papa nods his head slightly.

  “What do you mean by vulgar?” Jimmy’s mom asks.

     “Vulgar means-“ Raphael gets ready to explain the meaning of vulgar but Papa cuts him off.

   “She knows what vulgar means Raphael, she’s asking what her son was saying.”

      “Oh,” Raphael nods, “Sorry, Ma’am. I don’t want to repeat the words.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

     “How can we believe this boy when he won’t even say what our son _allegedly_ said. I know my son and I know he’s a polite boy he was raised right-“

       “Are you trying to imply that my sons weren’t raised right?” Papa’s deep voice rumbles throughout the room.

    “Mister Winchester, please,” Principal Wilson tries to placate.

      “It’s a simple question I’m asking Principal. Mister Flint are you implying my sons haven’t been raised correctly?”

   “Well my son isn’t going around punching kids in the nose is he?”

       “He was calling me a faggot and asking if I wanted to suck his dick!” Gabriel shouts then lays his head on the table to hide his face in his arms.

    Michael’s hands clench into fists and he has to focus on his breathing so that he doesn’t lose his temper. Gabe is only thirteen, he’s a child a _fucking_ child and some other child is saying shit like that to him. He knows that the anger he’s feeling is a fraction of what Papa is feeling. Papa is extremely good at keeping his temper though which is good because Dad is not. If Dad was here he’d losing his mind. Papa places his hand on Lucifer’s arm who tried to stand up.

     “Jimmy,” Mrs. Flint looks to her son, “is that true? Did you say those things to him?”

    Jimmy looks away from his mother and out the window and shrugs.

  “Oh, Jimmy.” Her eyes fill with tears.

     “I think we are done here today.” Papa stands up and lifts Gabriel out of his seat with ease.

   Gabriel shrugs out of Papa’s grasp and walks ahead of the family. Gabe drives home with Papa and Raphael goes with Lucifer with and Michael.

~~~~~~~~

    Castiel pulls into the drive and puts the car in park before he can even try to start a conversation with Gabe the boy bolts out of the car and into the house. He takes a breath because he knows the next couple of days aren’t going to be fun. Locking the car he goes inside, he goes upstairs to and tries the doorknob but Gabriel has locked himself in his room.

      “Gabe can you please let me in?”

   “I want to be alone, except for Rainbow she’s in here with me.” Gabe sniffles.

       “Okay, I’m going to be right downstairs if you need me.”

  Cas knows that right now Gabe needs some time to himself. He heads downstairs and goes to the living room. Dean is in the next town over at Sam and Balthazar’s rescue.  The front door swings open and the other boys stampede into the house.

    “Where is he?” Lucifer demands.

  “He’s locked himself in his room. Give him some time Lucifer.” The second part of his sentence falls on deaf ears because Lucifer is already running up the stairs.

    “Am I in trouble?” Raphael questions.’

  “We will talk about it when Dad gets home.”

      Raphael accepts the answer and heads to the kitchen. Michael stands in the doorway to the living room.

   “Everything okay Michael?”

      Michael shrugs. “It’s just crazy. He’s only thirteen, he shouldn’t have to be going through this.”

   “I know. He’ll be okay though. Your dad and I are going to take care it. Could you go make sure that Lucifer isn’t upsetting Gabe more, I know he cares but sometimes he doesn’t understand space.”

     Michael snorts which causes Cas to laugh because if anyone knows how much Lucifer doesn’t get the concept of giving someone space it’s him. The oldest turns and goes up the stairs to check on his brothers. Castiel goes to the front porch to call Dean.

    Dean picks up after two rings. Cas isn’t ready for this conversation. He knows that Dean is going to freak the fuck out.

   “Hey, babe. How’s everything going at home?”

    “Where are you?”

   “I’m at Sam and Balthazar’s house. They’re making dinner. Why is something wrong?”

      “I would just recommend going somewhere private.”

    Cas hears Dean excuse himself and walk away. “Okay tell me what’s going on.”

       The angel explains to his husband what happened at the school and he is met with the exact opposite reaction he expected which is silence.

     “Dean, are you okay?”

   “No but I need to try and stay calm because I need to drive home and I can’t drive while being fucking pissed off.”

     “Good point. I’ll see you in a little bit, I love you.”

  “I love you too, see you in an hour.”

~~~~~~~~

     Rainbow continues to lick Gabe’s face as he cries. He hiccups and ignores the pounding on his door. It finally stops and he hears Michael reprimanding Lucifer.

      “Leave him alone, Lucifer.”

   “He’s upset!”

       “I know but he wants to be alone right now so just give him time.”

    There’s some grumbling and then silence. He stuffs his head under his pillow and hugs Rainbow. Jimmy has been saying that stuff for weeks now and yeah it sucks but it’s just because he’s a jerk. Gabe can deal with jerks but now Raphael hurt someone for him and everyone’s in trouble and it’s all his fault. Plus his parents are going to make a huge deal out of this for nothing.

     He doesn’t know when he fell asleep but he wakes up to someone lightly knocking on his door.

   “Gabriel, open the door.” Daddy calls.

       Gabe scrubs at his face before unlocking his door to let Daddy in. Papa is with him and they both enter his room and close the door behind them after Rainbow exits. The three of them sit down on the bed. Gabe sits away from them and crosses his legs.

     “How long has this been going on?” Daddy gets right to the point.

   He shrugs and stares at his fingers. “It’s not a big deal.”

      “That’s not what I asked. How long has this been going on, Gabriel?”

   Gabe swallows and digs his fingernails into his shins. “I don’t know. A couple of weeks I guess.”

       “Do you have a specific number?” Papa slightly tilts his head to the side.

    “Since school started.” Gabe keeps his eyes down.

      “School started two months ago, Gabe.” Daddy states baffled.

    “It’s fine.” He shrugs again.

        “It’s not fine, Gabriel it’s not. People can’t just talk to you like that. You can’t let people treat you like that. Why didn’t you tell us?”

     “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

  “It is a big deal.” Papa and Daddy say at the same time.

       “Did it upset you what Jimmy would say to you?” Papa asks.

    “Yes.” Gabe responds, his voice watery.

        “Did he ever do anything else?” Daddy questions.

    He nods his throat closing up and tears start to well up in his eyes.

        “What else has he done?”

    “He’s just said other stuff that’s like what he said today and he always pushes me around. He doesn’t like the way I dress or my hair.”

      He can see Daddy shake his head. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid, he didn’t want to make anyone mad and now his parents are mad. Gabe covers he face with his hands and can’t help but sob. It’s all just too much and he can’t take it.

    Daddy tries to pull him over but he flings himself away. “Stop it.”

 “T-this is why I d-d-didn’t tell anyone! N-now you’re both mad! Raph p-punched Jimmy and h-he’s still gonna pick on me and h-h-hate meeeee!” Gabriel cries so hard he can barely breathe and he starts coughing.

    This time when Daddy pulls him over he allows it. Gabe coughs and cries, he shoves his wet snotty face into Daddy’s chest. Daddy hugs him and Papa rubs his back as he cries, neither of them shush him or tell him there’s no reason to cry they just let him cry it out.

      After ten minutes of intense crying he gathers himself but he doesn’t move from Daddy’s lap.

   “You should have told us Gabe, if you told about this sooner then we could have put a stop to it sooner. Because Jimmy is going to stop picking on you. Papa and I are going to make sure of it.” Daddy kisses his head.

     Papa wipes away the wetness from his face and kisses all over Gabe’s face until he’s a laughing mess.

  “I know this stinks Gabe but no one can talk to you like that, no one. If it ever happens again then come to us immediately.”

     “How are you going to get him to stop?”

   “Tomorrow we are going to talk to Principal Wilson and make sure Jimmy stop.”

      Gabe still doesn’t understand how they are going to stop him but he believes them and it would be amazing to not have to deal with Jimmy ever again.

~~~~~~~~

  Michael wakes up in the middle of the night because he has to go to the bathroom and then he gets thirsty so he heads to the kitchen for a glass of water. At the top of the steps he stops cold in his tracks because he hears Dad talking to someone in his ‘disappointed’ voice.

      “Did you really think you would be able to sneak out?”

    “Clearly, that’s why I tried to do it.”

        “I don’t know who you think you’re talking to with that attitude.”

    Michael can clearly picture what the two look like in the living room. Lucifer is sitting slouched on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and avoiding eye contact because he knows what he did was wrong but he still hates getting in trouble. Dad is standing completely straight in front of him using every inch of height he has and is looking totally unamused.

     When Michael was younger and still growing he never thought about how tall he would get but he certainly never expected to be taller than Dad. Dad is 6’1” and Uncle Sam is 6’4” and Michael is 6’5” making him the tallest in the family.

   “Why were you even trying to sneak out?”

       “Somebody hired the band to play at their party.”

    “Excuse me?”

      “It’s not a big deal, Dad.”

   “You thought you were going to sneak out at one in the morning to play at some person’s house?”

      “Yeah it was going to be really cool.”

   “Oh yeah really cool. You didn’t tell me or your father about it because you knew we would say no.”

       “Yeah because you’re lame.”

    “Go to bed, Lucifer. You’re grounded for a month and you can’t go to band practice for a week.”

       “What?! That’s so unfair!”

    “Who do you think you’re yelling at, young man?”

         Lucifer doesn’t say anything instead he stomps away grumbling to himself about how unfair life is. Michael tries to hide but his lanky body doesn’t exactly easily fit anywhere. His brother clearly notices him but doesn’t say anything as he stomps to his room.

    “Michael,” Dad pulls his attention away from Luci, “you’re over six feet tall do you really think you can hide?”

  “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was coming downstairs for a drink and just heard what was going on.”

     “I’m sure he would have been complaining about me to you in the morning anyway.” Dad waves a hand and starts walking up the stairs.

    Michael shrugs one shoulder because it’s true but he’s not going to confirm or deny that to Dad. Dad simply laughs and tells him to get back to bed soon. He gets his glass of water and goes back to his room. His heart stops for second when he sees something sitting on his bed but it starts beating again when he realizes that it’s just Luci.

     “What are you doing?” He puts his glass on his nightstand and motions for Luci to move over so he can lay down.

    “I’m mad.”

        “You know what you did was wrong also why would you even try? No one can get anything by Dad expect Papa.” Michael stretches out and gets comfortable.

    “Be on my side.” Lucifer punches his shoulder.

         “I would be if you didn’t try to do something stupid.”

     Lucifer huffs but doesn’t say anything else.

~~~~~~~~

      It’s always easy to tell when Gabe is in a really good mood because he will dress in all yellows and pinks. For the past week the youngest Winchester has been in an amazing mood. Everyone knows it’s because Jimmy has finally left him alone. Raphael walks behind his brother who practically skips into the house.

      “Good day?” Papa asks with a smile when Gabe hops onto the stool at the counter in the kitchen.

   “Yup. I got an A on my math test and art was cool today because we got to look at bugs.” Gabe stuffs a celery stick with peanut butter in his mouth.

      Lucifer slams the front door shut and loudly walks up the stairs.

   “We don’t slam doors in this house mister!” Papa calls after Luci.

       “How was your day Raph?”

    “It was good. We got a new book assignment in English but I already read the book so Mrs. Tollman gave me a different book than everyone else. She says its high school level.” He takes the book out of his bag and places it on the counter so that Papa can see it.

      “Catcher and the Rye.”

    “Yeah, Mrs. Tollman says that there’s a lot of symbolism in it.”

       “I hate that book.” Michael snatches a celery stick off of Gabe’s plate.

     “Hey!” Gabe yells at Michael with his mouth full.

         “You hate all books.” Raphael puts a protective hand on his book.

    “I do not. I just hate stupid books, like that one.”

  Raphael rolls his eyes at his older brother. In response Michael grabs another celery stick from Gabe.”

     “Papa!” Gabe grabs his plate and moves away from Michael while glaring at him.

   “Michael stop it. I’ll make you your own.”

      “Nah, that’s okay Papa. I need to go finish my homework before debate practice tonight.” Michael ruffles Gabe’s hair before leaving the kitchen.

    Raphael quickly eats his snack then goes to his room to start his homework. Gabriel trails behind him, Raphael ignores his little brother until they reach his door.

     “Can I help you?”

   “Come play a video game with me.”

      “I need to do my homework.”

   “Do it later!” Gabe grabs Raphael’s hand and drags him down the hall

       Raph lets his brother drag his to the living room. He does need to do homework but he has time to get it done. Gabe puts in Mario Cart then jumps on the couch next to Raphael. He looks at his brother from the corner of his eye and can’t help but smile. Gabriel is the most colorful thing Raphael has ever seen. The thirteen year old is wearing green and blue polka dot leggings, a pink skirt and a bright yellow shirt. He took his socks and shoes off but he was wearing red and orange stripped socks and sparkly pink converse. Gabe always looks like a blind clown picked out his outfits but Raphael always loves seeing what his brother thinks is fashionable.

~~~~~~~~

     “All I’m saying is that we don’t have to go to Uncle Sam and Balthazar’s because I can watch the house and the kids.” Michael crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe to the living room.

   “Stop calling us kids!” Lucifer throws a pillow at Michael’s face.

       “Lucifer.” Dad sends a hard look at the blond.

    “I like going to their house they have a million animals.” Gabe lifts Rainbow onto the couch, even though he knows she’s not supposed to be on the furniture.

      “No one asked you Gabe.” Luci sneers.

  “Well no one asked you to have a bad attitude yet we’ve been dealing with one for ten years.” Gabe tilts his head to act innocent.

     Raph covers his mouth to keep in his laugh but he ends up snorting instead. Lucifer glares at his stupid brothers but doesn’t say anything.

   “Boys knock it off, your Uncles are going to be here soon to pick you up.” Papa carries his and Dad’s luggage to the front door.

     “I could also have driven us there.”

   “I know it’s a crazy concept Michael but your Uncles like spending time with you four.” Dad puts Rainbows harness and leash.

     Papa and Dad are taking Rainbow with them on their weekend trip. The parents going a trip is the whole reason that Lucifer and his brothers are going to Uncle Sam and Balthazar’s, which Lucifer isn’t mad about he’s mad because he still can’t practice with his band because Dad is the worst.

    The front door swings open and almost hits Papa in the face, Uncle Balth walks in with a huge smile on his face. Uncle Sam walks in behind him shaking his head.

   “Who’s ready to have an awesome weekend?” Uncle Balth yells.

    Gabe jumps off the couch because Uncle Sam is probably his favorite person in the world. The youngest Winchester throws himself at Uncle Sam who catches him without a problem. Lucifer grabs his backpack and walks past everyone and goes outside to wait by his Uncles car. After about five minutes everyone comes outside. Papa and Dad come over to him first.

     “Listen, Luc we know you’re mad at us because we grounded you because you tried to sneak out but we love you so much okay. Have a good weekend buddy.” Dad hugs him and kisses the top of his head then goes over to his car.

    “You know Lucifer if you just stopped doing things that you know will get you in trouble you would spend a lot less time mad at your father,” Papa uses the voice he always uses when he thinks he’s saying something important, “I love you, okay?” Papa hugs him and kiss his cheek.

      That was not an answer. Lucifer crosses his arms and waits for Uncle Sam to unlock the car. Finally they are all in the car. Michael gets to sit in the passenger seat because he’s the size of a Redwood. Lucifer is sitting in the middle with Uncle Balthazar. Raphael and Gabriel are in the back. Lucifer puts his headphones in and closes his eyes ready for an hour long nap.

~~~~~~~~

    Dean wishes that his and Cas’ weekend trip was actually a nice getaway but it’s not. Cas and he are going Houston to meet with Chuck to talk about the boys. Dean is ready to have his life taken away from him. He got to have the boys for ten years he should be happy with that. They did the best they could with raising them.

    He makes himself think of something else. Even though he’s come to terms with the fact that his life is going to be destroyed doesn’t mean he won’t cry about it. For a little bit he think about the past ten amazing years but that still makes him sad. The he think starts thinking about how he will still have Sam but then he thinks about how he will have to tell Sam that he will never be able to see his nephews again. So since everything is upsetting him he decides to think about nothing at all.

~~~~~~~~

     Castiel and Dean walk up the front steps of the address that Chuck gave them. Cas knocks on the door twice. Chuck answers it quickly, he has a drink in hand and a smile on his face. The married couple follows Chuck into the house, they go to the living room. Dean holds Cas hand so tightly when they sit down on the couch that Cas in convinced that if he wasn’t an angel his hand would be broken.

    “How was your trip boys?” Chuck swirls his drink around.

  “Fine.” Dean chokes out.

    “Are you alright Dean? You look a bit pale.” Chuck takes a long sip from his glass.

  “I’m fine.” Dean knows that he sounds like he’s about to throw up.

     “Good! Because I have great news! Do you remember what I told you on your wedding day, Dean?”

  “Don’t go back in time and sleep with Elvis because it’s not worth it.”

     “No. Well, if I did say that I stand by it but no. I said that you will have the rest of eternity with the boys.”

   “Right. I remember you saying that.”

       “Well I’ve decided to tell you what I meant by that because I’m going to be going a small vacation.”

   “What do you mean by small?” Cas asks his father.

       “Eh twenty years give or take. Very short.” Chuck finishes his drink then it automatically refills.

   “You haven’t even been back for twenty years!”

       “Are you sure? How old is Michael?” Chuck scratches his chin.

   “Eighteen and he was eight when he got him!” Castiel leans forward as if he’s ready to strangle his dad.

      “Hm. Well he’s very tall for his age. That’s beside the point though. I won’t be leaving for a couple of months anyway Castiel so don’t get your boxers in a twist. I need to get many things in line, this being one of them.”

    “Once it is time for the boys to come back to heaven. That time is nowhere near by the way, but once the time comes you two will be coming with them. I know what you’re thinking, what about Samuel? Well since Balthazar and he have fallen in love and the boys are so fond of him he will also be coming to Heaven or have the ability to, whatever he and Balthazar want.” Chuck smiles as he finishes his drink again.

   “So I’m going to die when they boys need to go back to Heaven?” Dean questions, not the he’s mad about it he just wants to know what is going to happen.

     “Not technically.”

  “So what will happen technically?”

     “You’ll go to Heaven.”

   “And?”

      “And what else do you need to know?”

   Dean shrugs because really all he needs to know is that he won’t be losing his family. When it comes to angel’s and Heaven sometimes it’s better to know less and ask limited questions, Dean is going to say that this is one of those times.

   “Well, that’s that then. I’ll see you both in a couple of weeks and then in twenty years. Now I got you two a hotel room so go have a fun weekend, I’ll watch Rainbow tonight and you two can pick her up in the morning.” Chuck ushers them tout of the house and slips a keycard into Dean’s hand before closing the door.

    “That was interesting.” Dean walks to the passenger side of the letting Cas drive to the hotel.

  “Just like every time Chuck is around.”

~~~~~~~~

       Cas grabs Dean’s thighs and lifts him off the ground. Dean wraps his legs around the angel as he pushes him against the wall. The kiss is heated and full of passion. Cas starts working his way down from his husbands lips to his neck. He contemplates if he should leave any marks, he decides to bite and suck a couple of marks on Dean’s neck because he can heal them in the morning.

   Dean quickly throws his own shirt off then starts unbuttoning Cas’. They continue to make out on the wall for a little bit then Cas carries the freckled man over to the bed. He drops him ungracefully onto the bed and grabs his ankles and pulls him so his legs are dangling over the edge. Dean is already a panting mess and it’s the most beautiful thing Castiel has ever seen.

    He loses his train of thought from looking at his gorgeous husband until Dean kicks his shin. Cas laughs before unbuttoning Dean’s jeans and yanking them off as well as his boxers. Cas drops to his knees acting like he’s going to give Dean a blowjob, Dean is completely ready and sits up. Instead of giving proper oral he lightly licks all around Dean’s dick.

     Dean writhes and whines the entire time. Cas knows that there’s people who look at them as a couple and think Dean is the most dominate person because of how he acts outside of the bedroom. He knows people think Dean is a commanding and vocal person in bedroom and he is the exact opposite, Dean hardly says actual words during sex it’s usually just sounds and he’s not dominate at all.

    Cas stops teasing Dean when he himself can’t take it anymore. He stands back up and motions for Dean to move up the bed. Dean scrambles up. The angel sinfully kisses every inch of Dean’s body until the green eyed man is a moaning mess. Dean blindly reaches a hand out wanting more body contact. Cas still has his pants on so he shuffles off the bed so he can easily undress. Dean’s eyes pop open and he whines high in the back of his throat, he reaches out and tries to grab Cas’ hand to pull him back.

     Castiel smiles at him as he climbs back onto the bed. They hump like horny teens for a minute before Dean flips them over so he can wrap his rosy lips around Cas’ hard on. Dean does not tease Cas but instead gives a mind shattering blow job. Even though he would love to let him finish Cas pulls Dean away and flips them back over. He lifts Dean’s legs up and hooks them over his shoulders, Dean’s now not in the most comfortable position but he’s at a great angle. The angel sticks his pointer finger in his mouth to wet it.

   He traces around Dean’s hole which sends delicious shudders throughout the man. Cas traces around the hole a few more times before gently working his finger in. Dean slightly tenses but after a few pumps he melts into the touch. Cas doesn’t rush anything once he has two fingers in and feels like Dean is properly prepped can’t wait any longer he unhooks Dean’s legs from around his shoulders so that Dean is now laying down. Dean grabs Cas hand as he enters him, Dean loves to be touched as much as possible during sex. Cas holds Dean’s hip with one hand and his hand with his other.

    Dean tightens his grip on his hand the same time his hole tightens. Cas speeds up and tightens his grip on Dean’s hip, he knows there’s going to be bruises after this. Dean wraps his legs around Cas’ hips. They cum at basically the same time. Cas slowly pulls out and lays down next to his husband. He starts peppering Dean’s face in kisses and Dean basks in the glow.

      His husband rolls over and shoves his face in Cas’ chest. He rubs his back and rests his cheek the top of Dean’s head. It’s been a while when since they got to have hours to themselves, Cas smiles and kisses Dean’s hair.

~~~~~~~~

  Dean pulls up to Sam and Balthazar’s house which is on the same property as their rescue. Cas walks Rainbow as they got walk to the house. They can hear everyone in the backyard so the go the back gate. Dean is incredibly surprised that when they walk into the backyard Lucifer runs up to them, Gabe also runs up but that’s usual. Gabe hugs both Dean and Cas then takes Rainbow from Cas and runs back to the table that they are all eating at.

   Lucifer hugs Dean and Cas tightly. “I love you both. I’m sorry for being difficult.”

  “You’re not difficult, Lucifer.” Dean rubs the sixteen year old’s shoulder.

      “I know I am, Dad.” Lucifer rolls his eyes then leads them to the table.

   Dean sits at one head of the table and Sam is sitting at the other one. It’s a beautiful sunny day with only a few clouds in the sky. He looks around the table at his family and can’t help but smile. He has to say that his life has turned out pretty perfect, not conventional but perfect. If he could go back in time he would try to hook up with Elvis Presley he tell his eighteen year old self that everything was going to work out in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I love writing the angels so freaking much! The next big story I was planning doesn't have them in it but now I'm reconsidering because even though I will still have the prequel I just love writing the angels. I will tell you what I had planned next but I don't know if I'm going to stick with it because I'm rethinking a lot things (one of those things being a sequel perhaps?). The next story was going to be Dean and Sam running a monster orphanage, me and my friend had talked about this before but Madness was the one who made me think about it a lot and made me think people might enjoy a story of it. I also have the mob story I started in like November and haven't done anything with. So there's a lot of options xD This is actually a little sad and a part of me will miss writing this (the one shots will not stop yet though!).   
>  I love you guys so fucking much! You've kept me going and have all been amazing. I hope you guys will continue to support me but even if you don't and you only ever like this one story from me I'm glad you liked it!! I truly love every single one of you, I can't say it enough.   
>  This is super long but it is a small goodbye so give me some slack.   
> Love forever,   
> Mess


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